City of Rain
by Biggle Cakes
Summary: Tessa is sent to boarding school in London, where she meets Clary, her artist roommate with the atomic bomb of boyfriends Jace Herondale, along with his cousin, Will. But how can Tessa adapt to London life when she misses New York so badly? And what will she do when best friends Jem and Will both seem to like her? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, Aurora here, hope you enjoy it :) **

**The character belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me **

She stood in the doorway, her backpack on her back and two suitcases in both hands, staring inside her new dormitory.

Tessa Gray did not want to go to boarding school. She also knew she had done nothing to deserve it, and didn't see why she must be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to London, England, 3459 miles away from her home, New York. She was well behaved, never snuck out or acted reckless. She was the type of girl content with sitting in her room on a Saturday night with a book, listening to the sounds of the city from her family's small apartment.

Nate, her older brother, had been sent to this school for bad behaviour, and for the past two years she'd been the only child at home. She'd missed his terrible dancing and the way he used to pour his milk in the bowl first, and then dump cereal in, splashing milk and cornflakes all over himself, every, single, morning. But the year they send her to this rainy, dank city, he graduates and goes to college in New Jersey, leaving her here alone to fend for herself.

She snapped out of her trance, and surveyed her new room. It was rectangular, with three single beds along the wall, which was made up of five windows, showing the block across from them, where the boys' dormitory was. To the far left was the door to a small bathroom with a cubicle shower.  
The room was completely bare of decorations around the second two beds, that only had a small two drawer nightstand and lamp. The first space, however, was obviously occupied. The bedspread was rainbow tie dye, with a star print pillowcase and manga posters adorning the walls, along with drawings blue-tacked in every available space, an iPod dock on the nightstand, still gently playing music and a large wooden wardrobe with sticky notes stuck on the doors. Tessa wondered if the wardrobe was there to be shared, or if the girl had somehow managed to get her own one crammed in.

She moved over to the middle bed and heaved her bags onto it, opening them with a snap. It was immediately clear to her that she had brought too much. One entire suitcase was dedicated to books, and the other was practically exploding with clothes and small things to remind her of home, like a snow globe with the Empire State Building inside, or a picture of her family all together in Central Park. She began to unpack her clothes, stuffing them into the two drawers until nothing would fit anymore (that was until she found the hidden pull out drawer under her bed) and tried to make the small space she had as homely as possible. She stuck some photos on the wall above her headboard and changed the covers of her provided pillows and blanket so they were now purple. She was halfway through stacking her books in alphabetical order due to boredom and nothing better to do, when the door banged open and a kissing couple smashed in.

They didn't seem to notice the startled Tessa as the boy kicked the door shut behind him, his arms wrapped around a tiny redhead, who was kissing him back just as frantically. He was literally lifting her off the ground to kiss her, and Tessa sat in shock, her hands gripping her blankets, and eyebrows raised. He dropped her onto her bed, the one with all the decorations, and continued kissing her feverishly.

"God, I missed you this summer," the boy whispered into her neck, as she threaded her hands through his blond hair. The girl looked up at him, her big green eyes filled with total adoration.  
"I missed you too, Jace" she said, kissing him sweetly.

Tessa - her cheeks flaming with embarrassment - cleared her throat loudly, unblinking, as slowly they both turned their heads to her. The girl's face went a deep shade of pink, and the boy -Jace, the girl had called him- was looking at Tessa with a sort of lazy amusement, a small grin on his face.

"Hello" he said. He was devastatingly hot.

Tessa stayed exactly where she was, not returning Jace's greeting.

"Alrighty then" he said cheerfully, hopping off the bed. "I'm Jace Herondale. And you are?" He held out his hand for her to shake.

He was American, Tessa noted in the back of her mind.

"Theresa Gray" she answered, her voice catching as she put her hand in his and shook it weakly "but everyone calls me Tessa".

Jace nodded, and withdrew his hand. The girl had sat up now, her hair a birds nest and her lips, like Jace's, were swollen and her cheeks bright scarlet.

"Oh! You're my new roommate!" The girl exclaimed, and scrambled over to Tessa, pushing Jace aside to talk to her. She really was tiny, barely making 5'2, but very pretty, with her whole red-hair-green-eyes thing.

"I'm Clary" she said, offering a smile "sorry we had to meet this way".

Tessa shook her head, trying her hardest to hide her discomfort. "No, it's fine," she brushed off, her face like she'd just eaten something sour "happens all the time".

"Oh, okay!" Clary grinned, not noticing the constricted tone of Tessa's voice or her stiff posture. But she guessed that Clary didn't know her well, and maybe she thought she acted like this all the time.

"Hey, you're American!" Clary noticed, her eyes bright, "where're you from?"

Tessa opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the door bursting open for the second time, startling her again.

"Are you two naked?" A male voice called, his accent British with a hint of something else "because if you are I'll have to go see the school counsellor_ again_".

"Come in Will!" Clary yelled back, plopping back onto her bed and picking up her iPod.

A tall boy walked in, his hands over his eyes, black hair falling over his forehead messily, his shoulders broad, wearing a black T-shirt and black jeans, the same height as Jace.

"You can put your hand down Will, we're not doing anything scandalous" Clary said, over exaggerating _scandalous_, her tone bored. Jace sat on the edge of her bed, his legs bent, watching amusedly as Will lowered his hands from his face and revealed shockingly blue eyes.

"Oh_ thank the heavens_. Last time I walked in here I went blind for a week" Will said, crossing his arms over his chest, smirking at Jace. They looked like they could be related, with the same shaped face and jaw, straight noses and full lips.

"Who's this?" Will asked, looking down at Tessa. She met his stare with her own, realising he was as, if not more, good looking as Jace.

"That's Theresa Gray. But _everyone_ calls her Tessa" Jace drawled, playing with Clary's foot on his leg.

Tessa blushed, and wished she could just be swallowed up by her extraordinarily spongy mattress.

"That's William, everyone calls him Will," Jace said, making Will flush ever so slightly. Jace got up off the bed and pecked Clary on the cheek.

"Gotta go unpack. See you tonight?" Jace asked, his nose brushing Clary's.

"You're room is across from ours" Clary pointed out, dropping her iPod and locking her fingers behind Jace's neck, pulling him down to kiss his lips.

Will made a gagging noise in the back of his throat. "Please, stop, you're burning my eyes" he choked, clutching his throat with both hands. Tessa giggled, and Will grinned at her.

"Okay, I _really_ have to go" Jace mumbled against Clary's lips, and he put his hands behind him and lifting Clary's of his neck. She smiled at him, and Tessa too, felt vaguely sick to the stomach.

Jace got up and grabbed the back of Will's collar, dragging him out the door.

"You like Neil Gaiman?" Will asked Tessa suddenly, his eyes on books by her nodded, her eyes bright, excited to be asked about something she could talk about."I have some of his books across in my dorm if you wanted to borrow them-" he was cut off as Jace yanked him out the door, slamming it behind him.

Clary sighed and leaned back into her pillow, propping her head up on her hands, and looking over at Tessa.

"So, where _are_ you from" she asked, smiling at her.

"New York" Tessa answered, folding her hands in her lap delicately, the very mention of her home made her heart break with homesickness.

"No way! I'm from Brooklyn!" Clary said delightedly, sitting up and crossing her legs in front of her.

"How much do you miss it?" Tessa asked, hoping she'd get an answer like her own: _more than you could ever know._

"I miss it so bad, and my Mom and step-dad, who're lucky they don't have to come here and live in this waterlogged city" Clary complained. As if on queue, small drops of rain splattered against the window with little dings.

"I know! Is it ever _sunny_?" Tessa said, her smile reaching her eyes, glad that she had something in common with her roommate.

"No, hardly ever. Hey, how come you've showed up in eleventh grade?" Clary asked, and Tessa shrugged.

"Ask my parents. They sent me here" she said, leaning back onto her bed, her arms stretched out and her feet dangling off the edge. That was one of the problems with being tall, nothing ever really fit you.

For the good part of two hours, Tessa and Clary swapped life stories. Clary told Tessa about her friend Simon, who she'd met on the plane to here, and he'd ended up going to this school too. Tessa told Clary about her brother Nathaniel, or Nate, who had fallen asleep on a train and ended up in Poughkeepsie, and had sat in the station for hours waiting for their parents to pick him up.

"So, explain you and Jace" Tessa asked, lying on her side and facing Clary, giggling from Clary's last story of when she'd fallen into a fountain and tourist had taken pictures of her climbing out of the pond.

"Well, we both got sent here for high-school, and at first we were friends, and thats it. I mean we always had moments where we almost kissed and all, but then one night last year he just took me for a walk in the last week of school and he kissed me. I don't know why me though, I mean, he's _so_ hot, and there were prettier girls, and boys, for that matter, who were after him" Clary explained, and Tessa raised her eyebrows.

"So you're with him because he's...hot?" She asked, frowning.

Clary sat up quickly, and shook her head so her hair danced on her shoulders and around her face.

"No! Not at all! I mean, its a bonus. But he's really the best person, on the outside he's all smart-assy and hot but on the inside he's that times five _and _sensitive" Clary laughed, and Tessa felt herself laugh a bit too, though not wholeheartedly.

"Whats...um, whats with William-I mean, uh, Will" Tessa asked, trying not to sound like she cared too much, but finding it harder to pull off then she thought it would be.

"Do you like him?" Clary questioned, grinning widely.

"No, I just wanted to know" Tessa asked, holding her chin up.

Clary sprang of her bed and pulled Tessa down onto the floor.

"Ow! Whats was that for?!" Tessa yelled.

"Shhhhhhh!" Clary whispered, putting her finger over her lips and raising her eyebrows, her eyes blazing.

She crawled over to the window, and peered over it, and into the boy's dorms. Tessa made an impatient gesture, her eyebrows furrowed and her palms up.

"_I hear them coming back_" Clary explained, and Tessa nodded, still confused. She crawled over and copied Clary, her eyes peering over the window sill.

Sure enough, as Clary had said, three boys entered the room parallel to theirs. First came Jace, recognisable for his blond hair, who fell onto his white sheeted bed, face down, his limbs sprawled out on the small bed. Jace's corner was almost bare, save the box on his nightstand and a small pile of books next to them.

Next came Will, and Tessa swore she could see that brightness in his eyes from across the ten foot gap between their windows. He sat down on his bed and undid his shoes, and despite his promise to Tessa that she could borrow his books, she saw none. All she saw was mess and mess and more mess. Clothes were scattered everywhere and shoes hung from the fan above his bed, along with papers all over his nightstand.

"Will" Clary started, licking her dry lips "is Jace's cousin. He's Welsh." Tessa nodded, and noticed the flag of Wales pinned up on the opposite wall from is bed, the red dragon standing out. It also explained why they both looked alike, even if Jace had cool goldeny eyes, and Will bright blue ones. There was also the way Jace was more lean then Will, who was stockier than his blond cousin. Either way, the Herondale's certainly had an exceptional gene pool.

Thirdly, came a boy who's hair was silver. Tessa raised an eyebrow, and Clary waved her hand.

"Its a long story" she said, but then saw Tessa's expression "I'll tell you later"

The silver headed boy sat calmly on his bed and smiled nicely. _He had a nice smile, _Tessa thought. His area was clean, with a trunk on the end of his bed and what looked like an instrument case on his nightstand. He wore a dark green hoodie and plain jeans. He had posters on his wall of several band and concerts Tessa had never heard of, and a silver box sat on his bed.

"James Carstairs," Clary sighed "the calmest seventeen year old boy you could ever meet".

Tessa realised with a stab of jealously, that the boys had an extra bed space, which was occupied by a newly woken boy with dark hair, his expression sleepy.

"Alec Lightwood" Clary said. Tessa nodded.

They watched as Jace threw a pillow at Alec, and Will let out a loud laugh, making Tessa smile. James had the look of a disapproving but amused parent, watching his children playing games. His gaze drifted out to where Clary and Tessa crouched, and he smirked and walked over to window. He waved at them, his face lit up with a grin. Clary waved back with a small smile, and put her finger to her lips. James nodded and put his own finger to his lips and closed the curtains.

"Jem's a gem" Clary sighed, putting her back against the wall.

"I'm sure he is" Tessa agreed.

"Come on, lets go get some food. I'll introduce you to everyone" Clary said, standing up and holding out her hand for Tessa to take.

**SOOOOOOO did I ruin the characters? If you liked it, follow, favourite or review, or all three if you want :)) If you didn't, please leave a review and tell me why so I can make the story better. Thankyou for reading :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to those that reviewed, it means a lot. **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Clary led Tessa down the long corridor, dodging dormitory doors being flung open and squealing girls greeting their old friends. Tessa glanced into a room with clothes everywhere, the floor gone, replaced by two fighting girls, one with sandy blonde hair and green eyes, regal features and the other short with brown hair, something birdlike about the way she stood and the point of her face.

"These are my _clothes_ Charlotte!" The blonde girl screamed, gesturing to the pile.

"Yes, and why is it that you have so many Tatiana? Were you planning on staying here for the rest of your life?" Charlotte barked back, her tiny hands fisted beside her, visibly shaking.

"Tessa! There's someone I want you to meet" Clary called, and the bickering girls looked up at her. Tatiana glared at her, and slammed the door shut in Tessa's face with a loud bang.

Tessa ran down to where Clary stood with a tall girl with long black hair and dark eyes, she was extremely pretty, and Tessa felt instantly a bit jealous.

"Meet Isabelle Lightwood" she grinned, and Isabelle smiled at her back. Despite her good looks, Tessa was glad Isabelle was at least one girl taller than her.

Clary and Isabelle immediately immersed themselves in chatter, and Tessa's eyes drifted elsewhere. Inside Isabelle's room (which also had four bed spaces, making Tessa think that her room just happened to be smaller) was a blonde girl and a girl with long brown braids, who seemed to be occupied with playing a game of cards.

"Aha! I win" the braided girl said, raising her hand into the air in triumph, grinning.

The other girl threw down her remaining cards and made a "_hmp_" sound, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Starting the card tournament early I see?" Clary observed, leaning up against the doorframe. Isabelle shook her head sharply, and snatched up the cards from the bed as the blonde girl handed over a ten pound note.

"I said no playing cards until friday, Jessamine" she scolded, waving the cards in their direction. Isabelle turned to Tessa. "We have a card tournament every year, the winner usually goes home with about five hundred pounds" Isabelle said proudly, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"F-five hundred pounds?" Tessa spluttered, blinking, her jaw dropped.

Isabelle nodded, her eyes bright. Clary pursed her lips and folded her arms.

"Who won last year again?" She asked, her expression sour.

"Tatiana. Oh, don't look like that Clary, just cause she won that wardrobe in your room!" Isablle laughed, and turned to Tessa. "This girl" Isabelle said, jerking her thumb towards a sulky Clary "bet her wardrobe to Tatiana, who now uses it as extra space for her mountains of clothes".

"Come on Tessa, lets go eat" Clary muttered, grabbing Tessa's arm and pulling her away.

"It was nice meeting you!" Tessa called over her shoulder as Clary dragged her down the hallway. Isabelle waved, but it wasn't exactly friendly.

Clary pulled Tessa in silence down a stairwell, and down another never ending hallway, and into a crowded cafeteria. It was full of screaming girls, shouting boys and all things in between. Tessa spotted a boy wearing a sequinned waistcoat and neon green flare pants, his hair gelled so it looked like he'd just had a leaf blower pointed at one side of his head. She saw a rather pretty girl sitting alone at a table, her brown hair done in a braid and a large scar running the length of her face. She would have felt sorry for her if it weren't for the boy standing behind her, obviously unnoticed, his sandy hair hanging in front of his eyes, looking at her with all his attention, his stare intense on the back of the girl's head.

Then she found James sitting at a table, his silver hair making him recognisable amongst the large amounts of kids. He was engaged in what looked like a friendly conversation with a boy with brown hair and glasses, leaning back in his chair so that only two of the legs were on the ground. James was twirling an apple on his fingertips, smiling and nodding as the boy with glasses made large hand gestures, looking as though he might tip at any moment. And next to James, was Will.

He had changed into a white button up long sleeved shirt, and had his feet up on the table, and a book in his lap, reading despite the noises of the cafeteria. Without looking up from his book, he plucked the apple out of James' hand a took a large bite, and set it back down into his palm. James shook his head and closed his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips as he put the apple down on the table and pushed it in Will's direction.

Tessa was so immersed in watching them she didn't notice when Clary had gone to join the their table, and rushed after her, only to be knocked aside by Tatiana. Tessa watched from the ground as Tatiana practically jumped onto Will's lap, grabbing his book and tossed it aside and then grabbed his chin and kissed him. Tessa felt the urge to throw up all over the ground, before reminding herself that it wasn't very nice to judge people on first impressions. Maybe Tatiana was a very pleasant girl, who had stimulating conversations and told funny jokes, but by the way Clary was glaring at her she didn't think she was right.

Tatiana finally realised Will's face as Tessa picked herself up off the ground and wiped her palm on her shirtfront, feeling a slight amount of satisfaction as Will stared mournfully after his book that now lay sadly on the ground a few feet away from his table. Tessa picked it up and walked over to the table, pulling up a seat and sitting herself down.

"Hey" Clary greeted, her chin on her hand, watching Will and Tatiana with narrowed eyes.

"Hey" Tessa said back, and looked at the book; the picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wild. Tessa was slightly taken aback, but of course Will had also expressed an interest in Neil Gaiman, why should she be surprised by this book? _  
_

She looked up into silver eyes, and jumped slightly. James smiled at her and she felt compelled to smile back, his was almost infectious.

"Hullo, I'm Jem" he greeted, absently brushing his oddly coloured hair off his forehead.

"Tessa" she smiled, blushing. She cursed herself, she'd always been bit shy, but talking to boys was not something new to her, she didn't have the slightest clue as to why she blushing.

"Are you new?" He asked politely, raising his eyebrows in question. He had a calm voice, as if he'd never raised it or lowered it from the level it was at now.

"Yes, I've moved from New York" Tessa said excitedly. _He doesn't care you com from New York _Tessa reminded herself, and laced her hands in her lap.

"Oh really? Cool" he grinned at her, and Tessa's heart gave a little flutter. He was good looking, and he genuinely seemed to care, although she suspected that he was the kind of person he seemed to care about everyone.

"Tessa, this's Simon" Clary said, pushing Simon's back as his chair tilted back a little too far, almost resulting in him crashing to the ground with his feet in the air.

"Hi" Simon said, his mouth full of a sandwich, crumbs on his chin. He turned back to Clary, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I totally disagree" he argued "Loki is totally a bad guy, I mean I know there's that whole kicked puppy, Tom Hiddleston dude but-"

"But Loki just wanted to be taken seriously and loved by Odin" Clary shot back. Clearly this was the kind of argument that happened either between siblings or best friends, and Tessa didn't want to interrupt them.

"Hey! You're that girl who was looking in my room today" Tatiana said, taking a bite from Will's apple, (who flinched when it crunched) her tone completely happy, like she might be on a sugar high.

"Um.._yes_" Tessa said, shying away from the girl like at any moment she thought she might slap her.

"And you're holding my book" Will pointed out coldly, pushing Tatiana off him and plucking the book out of Tessa's hand, glaring at her. He stalked out of cafeteria with Tatiana trailing after him like a lost dog.

Tessa frowned, wondering what she'd done wrong.

"Don't mind him" Jem told Tessa "he's just sick of Tatiana, much like the rest of us".

Clary and Simon pumped their fists into the air. "_Amen_" they both said in union.

"Is..um..is Tatiana dating Will?" Tessa asked, trying again in vain to sound nonchalant but failing once again.

"Yes" Clary groaned "for like, a year now, on and off". She shook her head. "You think she'd get the message".

Jem smiled at that, and ran his hand through his hair as Jace sat down at the table, a tray overflowing with food in his hands. His gold eyes went straight to Clary, and her green ones to him. They kept eye contact until it was uncomfortable at the table for everyone, especially Simon, who squirmed in his seat with a scowl.

"Oh go on then" Jem said finally "tell us what the theme is. We all know you know".

"The theme for what?" Tessa asked, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.

"The homecoming dance. Its always big and stupid and overdone" Simon answered, plucking the prongs of his fork, the frown still plastered to his face.

"Okay, prepare yourselves" Jace said, pausing, leaning forward, everyone copying his, movements. "Masquerade" he said, leaning back, and everyone acted as though Jace had just dropped a bomb on the table, all of them groaning.

"God, thats worst than lasts years" Simon moaned, his face in his hands, making his voice muffled.

"Under the Sea" Jem whispered to Tessa before she could ask the question. Tessa raised an eyebrow and looked around the table. Clary looked as though she was a balloon that had just been popped in her seat, and Jace was scarfing down a pile of mashed potatoes, while Jem still looked calm, but just a bit more disappointedly so.

"So are you going to ask me to go with you?" Clary asked Jace, raising her eyebrows.

Jace looked up from his potatoes surprisedly, his cheeks puffed out and mouth full of food. "Wha?"

"I said, _are you going to ask me to go with you_?" She repeated impatiently.

Jace swallowed his mouthful painfully, and looked up at Clary.

"I thought it went without saying" he said, and Clary made a face.

"Don't be an idiot" she muttered, looking throughly disappointed.

Jace sighed and dropped to the ground in front of Clary, and held her tiny hand between his large ones, and looked into her eyes.

"Clarissa Fray" he began, his voice dripping with drama "will you please give me the honour...of being your homecoming date?"

Clary pulled her hand out of his, and turned away as he got up from his kneeling position and grinned at her.

"Yeah, yeah, sure" she mumbled, her cheeks on fire.

Tessa found herself a bit envious of Clary and Jace. They were adorable, where as she, on the otherhand, had never done so much as kiss a boy quickly in a game of truth or dare.

Jace leaned down and whispered something in Clary's ear, making the colour of her cheeks darken, spreading to her neck and chest. Jace pulled away grinning, and Simon slumped lower into his chair, looking defeated.

"Don't worry, you'll get your chance" Jem reassured Simon as Clary and Jace left the table, Jace picking up the tray of food and following Clary out of the cafeteria.

"I doubt that" he muttered sadly, his eyes on his feet.

"Tessa" Jem said suddenly, and she turned to him, thinking in the back of her mind that she actually had no idea how to get back to her dorm without Clary.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come to the masquerade thing with me?" He asked, his voice very calm, as always.

Tessa choked on nothing. _Perhaps he was asking Simon? _He couldn't be asking her,_ could he?_

"Only because its your first time here, and you need to experience one of these dances to_ see_ how terrible they are" he explained, and Tessa let out a breath of relief.

"Of course, I'd love to".

**Yeah, the next chapter will be better! I promise! Just not really feeling the gist of it all, so if you liked it, feel free to review, and if you didn't let me know why. Thankyou for reading :)) **


	3. Chapter 3

** Thanks to everyone that reviewed!**

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

After Tessa had forced down a sandwich and some orange juice, she said a goodbye to Jem and Simon and tried to make her way back to her dorm room. She walked down numerous corridors, all of them looking the same. She'd knocked on boys' and girls' rooms alike, until finally, she found her corridor. The sun was beginning to set now, and Tessa was glad. It meant that tomorrow they would start classes, and hopefully she would meet more people and become better acquainted with Idris Secondary College, in general.

She put her hand out to turn the handle, and froze. A tie was wrapped around the doorknob, a note with Tessa's name written on the front of it.

It read:

_Dear Ms Gray, if you have happened to come back at this most unfortunate time, please know that you may not be allowed to enter the room for various_

The note stopped, and Tessa saw scribbled down the bottom in messier handwriting than the one before it saying:

_Tessa, I know you like books (I saw them all) go to the library for awhile if you don't want your eyes burnt off like Will - Clary :)_

Tessa snorted, and scrunched the note up in anger, throwing it on the ground and stomping on it a few times for good measure. Clary was nice, and she guessed Jace was too in his own annoying way, but she'd only been at this school for less than _twenty-four hours_! She was not ready to be kicked out of her own room just yet, and was very angry she had been. She stomped on the note again for personal anger issues and set off down the corridor, only to be slammed in the face by an opening door.

Tessa's hand flew to her nose automatically, and she let out a muffled "_ow_".

"Oh my god I'm so sorry" a high pitched voice apologised, sounding frantic. Tessa opened her eyes and was immediately taken aback by the girl. She had eyes so blue they were almost violet, and black inky hair that tumbled down just above her waist, she was very pretty. And she looked just like Will.

"No, no, it's fine" Tessa said, examining her fingers for blood.

"No no, no I'm...look I'm very sorry, I'm just in a rush, I'll make it up to you later!" The girl apologised again, and took off sprinting down the corridor, taking a sharp right into the connecting bridge between the boys dorms, her dark hair flying behind her.

Tessa walked around the school, coming across empty classrooms and science labs, music rooms and janitor's closets. It was well and truly dark now, and Tessa knew she was quite lost. She wandered the peopleless hallways and felt bad for herself, even if she knew it did her no good. Why couldn't she stay in New York? They'd shipped her off the day after they'd told her. She'd barely had time to say goodbye to her friends, or see her favourite places or even _pack_.

She stopped in front of the still lit library and peeked inside. It was warm, and a few kids were still sitting at the tables, reading books or doing work.

It was a beautiful room, with high ceilings and tall rows multicoloured books. In the front of the room sat a tired looking woman at the counter, her eyelids drooping and her chin on her hand. Tessa walked around, running her hands over the spines of the books, not containing her smile, with no one around to see it. Admittedly, she did come across a couple kissing, and pivoted around as soon as she saw them.

Eventually, she found something mildly interesting, sitting down on a footstool to read it, when someone stepped in front of her. He hasn't seemed to notice her, and Tessa didn't really care. Sure, it annoyed her when people stood directly in front of her when she read, or when people peered over her shoulder and read the page out loud, making fun of it. Admittedly, she was still angry from being kicked out of her own dorm, but there was really nothing she could do now, so she decided to make the most of it.

**###**

Will Herondale found peace in books. He hadn't told many people that, actually, he hadn't told _any_ people that. He supposed Jem knew, and probably a few of his friends, but they'd never commented on it and he'd never wanted them to. He enjoyed the classics, but every now and then he went for science fiction, which included his Harry Potter stage (he'd become secretly obsessed over it, reading it under a blanket with a flashlight when he was younger). Now it was all excuses, with "I'm only reading it for class" and such, but really, he liked to get away from it all. Away from goddamn boarding school, away from fending off younger boys from Cecily left right and centre, and away from life in general.

It was becoming a little too much.

He'd originally shown up the library looking for nothing in particular, just sort of liking the quietness and the absence of Tatiana and the like, picking up books at random and reading the blurbs. But now he wanted to find a certain book, _a tale of two cities, _to be exact. But despite the last fifteen minutes of searching, he couldn't find the blasted thing anywhere. Then, he spotted it.

It was in the hands of the new girl..._Tessa. _Her brown hair hung around her face and hid it from view, until she impatiently tucked it behind her ear with a scowl. He frowned. How could he get the book now? Surely there were other copies in this _gigantic library_? Something nagged at the back of his mind and said no. He scooted down between her and the stool she sat on. _Why was she sitting on a stool? There are plenty of other places to read? _He plucked a random book off the shelf, regretting it instantly, because it was called "_Its okay I'm wearing really big knickers_". He groaned and tried to shove it back onto the shelf, but the other books surrounding it had fallen into its place, and he just bent the book in half.

He grunted and tried to push it again, but it wouldn't go.

"Go in you little fuc-"

"Excuse me?"

Will turned around and threw the book to his left, his eyes wide, staring down at Tessa with his hand behind his back.

"Can I help you?" She asked irritably, her jaw set, and _his book in her palms_.

"Yes you can, actually" he said, his voice breaking. He cleared it, and looked her straight in the eyes and lifted his chin. "I'd like my book" he said bluntly.

She scoffed. "_Your_ book?" She said, making face "this is a library isn't it?"

"That still doesn't give you the right to take a book and not give it to me, after all, it is the libraries book, not yours" he pointed out, grinning at her annoyed expression.

"You just contradicted yourself" Tessa said, her lips pursed, her grey eyes serious.

Will hated it when people weren't in the joking mood, because sometimes he didn't think he had much more to offer than to either kid around with them or be a impolite bastard, which was all he was at times.

"Americans," Will said, smiling "think you own everything".

"Fine" Tessa snapped, shoving the book at his chest, and walking away, her hands balled at her sides. Will stared down at the book in his hands, and wondered exactly why he'd wanted it in the first place. He'd read it before, more than once, and really didn't even feel like reading it all now.

Halfway down Tessa stopped and bent over, and picked up a fallen book.

"You forgot this" she said, her voice like knives, throwing over "_Its okay I'm wearing really big knickers_". Will caught it in one hand to her displeasure, and she turned the corner.

Will followed, not exactly sure why, but he followed nevertheless. She turned and ducked behind a smaller shelf containing books on famous composers and musicians, books containing music sheets and books that hadn't been dusted off for a good twenty years. _Books Jem might own_, Will thought in the back of his mind.

There he found her, huddled in a corner, sitting on the floor her arms around her knees and dust in her hair from the books she had her head up against, crying. His stomach twisted painfully. He had never been good with crying girls, or crying _people,_ really. He wasn't the comforting sort, but what sort was he then, if not comforting? _The dickhead sort_, he thought glumly.

She hadn't seem to notice him yet, and he wondered if he should just turn and leave.

"Why are you crying?" He blurted out, regretting it as soon as the words escaped her lips. She looked up, her face blotchy and pink, her nose bright red and her eyes like crystals, shining brightly with fresh tears.

"Go away" she said, putting her head down again.

"Why are you crying?" he asked again, and she looked up at him, her expression livid. It was actually quite scary, really.

"I said go away" she said, staring him down.

Instead, he pulled up a tiny three legged stool from the corner of the room, and sat down, his knees up to his chest.

"If you're homesick, I understand" he said, not sure where the words were coming from, but saying them anyway.

"Really?" She asked, her expression softening. _Bingo._

"Yeah, of course" he laughed, smiling gently at her. _Stop Will, stop now. _"I'm from Wales, although, do you know what Wales is compared to London?"

Tessa shook her head.

"One soggy country" he said, and Tessa giggled to his delight. _What the hell do you think you're doing William?_

Tessa nodded and wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands, sniffing. "I just...I miss..._something" _She said, grasping for words "I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I miss it so bad and it hurts _so much". _She squeezed her eyes shut and her hand reached to clutch her necklace, an angel dangling on a chain.

"Sorry, I'm rambling" she apologised, and sniffed louder.

"No, not at all" he said softly. Truly, he understood what she meant, even if he had an idea of what he missed. He missed the green hills, the accents, his parents being parents, his Mam's cooking, but he missed something bigger than that though, so big he thought he might be just imagining it.

"Tessa-"

"Its time to go to your dormitories" a voice chimed in. It was the librarian, Mrs Penhallow, who sometimes taught english classes, a pleasant woman who had always let Will off if he was bringing a book back late.

"Oh my" she said, as she caught sight of Tessa. "Dear, are you alright?"

Tessa nodded, and pulled herself up off the floor, walking past the librarian with her head down and her hand on her elbow.

Will watched her go, his knees cramped from the stupid little stool on the floor, wondering what had just happened.

**###**

"Stupid, stupid, stupid" Tessa scolded herself, hitting herself on the forehead as she walked up the hall to her room. She had_ cried_, in front of _Will Herondale_, and had rambled on about stupid things like missing New York City? What was wrong with her?

The tie still hung on her door, and Tessa leaned against it, groaning, and sliding down to the ground. At this rate she might have to go ask if she could sleep in the absent bed where Jace might've slept, she was that exhausted. _Crying really takes a lot out of you_, she thought. A second wave of embarrassment crashed over her again, and she hugged her stomach.

"Dear!"

Tessa looked up. The librarian from earlier was power walking down the hallway awkwardly after Tessa, an expression of motherly concern on her face. _Oh no._

"I just wanted to know if you were alright?" She asked, a little breathless. Tessa stood, pressing her body up against the door.

"Yes, I'm fine" Tessa said stiffly.

"You seemed quite shaken before" she noticed, and Tessa felt bad for acting so rude, but she really just wanted to get to bed.

"So...yeah, I'm going to go to sleep now" Tessa said, pointing to the door behind her.

"Oh, of course, yes" the librarian said. She didn't move, watching Tessa expectantly.

Tessa bit her lip and turned around, praying that Jace had gone, and only Clary be in the room. She twisted the knob, and nothing happened. _Oh dear god_.

"Don't you have a key, dear?" The librarian asked, and Tessa shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

"Oh don't worry love, I have a key to all the dorms on me at all times" she said matter-o-factly, and Tessa felt her heart sink as she pulled out a ring of keys and found Tessa's dorm number.

Tessa watched in muted horror as she opened the door and stepped in. For a second nothing happened, and Tessa's heart stopped. Then she heard a scream. Tessa flinched and recoiled against the wall as all the doors along the corridor opened and girls stepped out to get a look.

The librarian stepped out of Tessa and Clary's room, dragging Jace by the ear. He was only wearing his boxers, and Tessa heard all girl laughter, some wolf whistles and a few shouts.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow _ow_" Jace said as she pulled him out of the room. The librarian was looking at Jace like he'd just set her house on fire, and Tessa saw Clary emerge, her expression startled and her cheeks very red.

"Lookin' good Jace!" Isabelle Lightwood called out, grinning from ear to ear.

"_What_, _just_ do think you were doing in a _girl's_ room, past _curfew_, Mr Herondale?" She asked, barely repressing her anger.

"What did it _look_ like I think I was doing?" Jace replied sarcastically, and she tightened her grip on his ear.

"Don't give me that cheek Jace. Girls, go back to bed" she instructed "I'm going to personally escort Jace back to his room now".

She pulled Jace down the hallway by his ear, in just his underpants, and Clary stared at Tessa.

"What _happened_?" Clary asked, as Tessa passed her into the room, and she shrugged, collapsing on her mattress.

"Beats me".

**Well, there you have it, chapter #3. If you liked it please review! If you didn't let me know why so hopefully I can fix it. Thankyou for reading :)) **


	4. Chapter 4

**_Aghhhhh_**** thankyou if you reviewed! It means so much to me :)) I just want to say that I'm going to try and fit in all the characters from TMI and TID that I can, even if just in the background. **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me **

That night, Tessa dreamt.

_She stood on a platform, dressed in gold, watching the crowd. As the dream went on, she felt her face changed. She became a pretty woman, felt herself grow a bit taller, and felt her hair curl and her mind shift. Tessa looked around as everyone laughed. Will and Jace were there, and so were Clary and Nate. She spotted Simon behind her on the stage, playing music to go along with her changing figure, blood dripping from his mouth and onto his white shirtfront. The scene changed, and Tessa was walking in central park in an elegant gown, holding up many skirts as she walked. The sun was bright in the sky, and it was a lovely day. She was walking arm in arm with Jem, his silvery hair shining under the sun being filtered through the green leaves overhead. _

_"Tessa" he said, his voice gentle. _

_"Tessa!" He yelled suddenly, doubling over, his knees on the pavement "Tessa help!" _

Tessa sat bolt upright in her bed, looking out the window at the sunrise, and hearing Clary's soft snores from her bed. Clary slept in a ball, holding her knees to her chest with the covers tucked around her so she was more of a human burrito. The dream she'd had had been strange and rather terrifying, enough to make her not want to go back to sleep, in fear of dreaming the same dream again. Instead, she got up and had a hot shower, brushed her teeth and packed her bag for the day.

When she was done, she sat on her bed and read by the light of the rising sun, giving her room a buttery glow.

"_Unnggggg_" Clary groaned, rubbing her head as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, her eyelids half closed while she stumbled over to the bathroom. The door slammed shut and Tessa flinched, before setting her book down gently. She'd seen why Will had wanted it, it was a good book, _A Tale of Two Cities_ was. That still didn't really explain why Will, a seventeen year old boy, had wanted to read Charles Dickens on his first day back at school.

"GODFUCKINDAMMIT" Clary yelled from the bathroom, and Tessa heard a crash and the squealing of the shower curtain behind yanked aside and Clary stormed back into the room in a towel, her hair half wet.

"All the hot water is gone" Clary muttered, grabbing clothes and stalking back to the bathroom on her tiny legs. Out of curiosity, and Clary being gone, Tessa tiptoed over to the wardrobe and opened the doors. They exploded open, showering Tessa in dresses, bags full of shoes and piles upon piles of books. Tessa tried in vain to shove it all back in, slamming her shoulder against it and grunting, but it wouldn't budge.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Clary said, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom, looking at the wardrobe with distaste. Tessa turned, her expression like a deer caught in headlights.

"I-I'm sorry, I just, I just wanted to see what was inside-"

"Nah, its fine" Clary interrupted, waving her hand in an impatient gesture and moving in front of Tessa and slamming her shoulder against the mass of things, and closing the wardrobe doors with a click, and doing up the latch.

"How'd you do that?"

"Practise" Clary said, brushing her hands off "you think thats bad? Wait till she comes _in here_ to change". Tessa shuddered.

"Yeah" Clary nodded "thats the right reaction".

"But whats with the books?" Tessa asked, cursing herself. _No one ever made friends from asking too many questions_, she reminded herself, _only made people angry. _

"Will needs to keep his books somewhere doesn't he?" Clary shrugged, but if she had a longer answer she wasn't sharing it, so Tessa decided not to pry. It was quite obvious from what she'd seen yesterday that Tatiana liked Will more than he liked her. Tessa grinned to herself, the thought making her feel an evil sense of glee on the inside. Of course Tatiana would give up extra space for Will, and that would also explain why she couldn't see any of his books through his window.

"Oh, okay" was all Tessa said, following Clary out the door to her first class with high hopes for the day.

**###**

"Cecily, thank god" Gabriel said, sweeping her up in a giant hug, smushing her face to his chest and lifting her feet off the ground. Cecily smiled, it was nice to see Gabriel again. More than nice, she supposed, but it would have been better if they didn't have to sneak around. Will seemed to be everywhere, and he had made it his job to fend off any boy in a ten metre radius away from Cecily, which had scared them all away. Gabriel was one of the few who stayed and decide they meet when Will was not around, which Cecily thought was a very bold thing to do, considering what Will might do if he knew.

_"If any boy even breathes on you accidentally Cecy, I will rip their lungs out of their bodies" Will had vowed the day she had come to highschool. _

_"Heaven forbid they should try to sleep with me" she had said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. _

_"You don't even want to know what I'll rip off if they do" he warned, his eyes serious. _

Cecily sighed, and pushed herself gently away from Gabriel gently, and he let her down, his eyebrows raised.

"Did I do something wrong? Did I crush you? Because my sister has often said that I'd break someone's back one day if I didn't stop-"

"Gabe" she said "shut up".

"Right" he said, and stepped away from her, only to step forward again and cup her chin in his hand, kissing her sweetly. "Sorry".

"No, don't be sorry" she smiled, and he let out a breath she wasn't aware he'd been holding, leaning back, his eyes bright.

"Cecily-"

"We should tell Will" she blurted out, and the light in Gabriel's green eyes went out immediately. "Why?" He asked, sounding as if she'd just suggested they elope and move to Iceland.

"Because it'd be better for me and for you -you especially- if we told him ourselves and he didn't find out through someone else. You know, it would be rather uncomfortable for me to see your arms ripped off in front of my eyes" Cecily said matter-o-factly.

Gabriel puffed out his chest and stood up a little straighter. "You know I'm not afraid of Will" he said, putting his hand on her waist, his other on her cheek.

"Besides, he's dating _my_ sister, I have the exact same right to tear him limb" he pressed a kiss to her lips "from limb" he kissed her again "from limb".

"As romantic as the idea of making my brother limbless is, Gabriel, I still think I'm right" she said, smiling up at him.

"Class is starting soon, I'd better be going" Gabriel pointed out, looking down at his watchless wrist, flushing ever so slightly, his ears going pink.

"Okay, see you later?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Of course" he grinned, and took off down the hallway on his long legs before she had the chance to say goodbye.

**###**

Tessa's first class was without Clary, and it was Music. She stood in the doorway of the music room, gulping. In the room were several faces she'd already seen, such as Jace and the braided girl from Isabelle's cabin, Maia, Clary had explained quickly before she'd gone to her own class. She saw Simon, but she knew no one else. She went and sat down next to Simon, who was playing plants vs. zombies on his phone, his glasses slipping down his nose.

"Hi" she said, pulling out her notebook from her bag and her pencil case, and folding her hands in front of her.

"Don't bother" Simon said, still not looking over at her, his full attention on his game.

"Don't bother with what?" Tessa asked, frowning.

"The teachers just make us go into the band room the entire lesson" he explained, quickly shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose "you don't even need that book. You might as well burn it".

Tessa put the book back in her bag along with her pencil case, as the teacher walked in. He was a peculiar man, with hair that made him look as though he had horns, and he sat on his desk, facing the class.

"I am Mr Fell, you may call me as s_u_ch" he said, despite the lack of attention he was getting from the rest of the class. "Oh _why_ am I even _bothering_" he said, shaking his head and making an gesture with his hands. "Just _go_" he said, and Tessa felt as though he would have been better as a drama teacher, with the amount of unnecessary emphasis he was putting on his words.

All the students got up and moved into the connected room, full of musical equipment, amplifiers and the like. Tessa's old school had never had this many instruments or space for music, and was quite shocked when it was more than a drum-kit with a kicked in base drum and a few acoustic guitars. They had a grand piano shoved in the corner, acoustic, electric and bass guitars lining the walls, a drum kit, a gong, and all things in between. Tessa had never been a very musical person, never played an instrument (she doubted the recorder in first grade counted for much) and certainly had never tried to sing.

She sat in a chair and watched as the class scattered around the room, some kids mucking around on guitars or keyboards, but some of them taking it a little more seriously.

Jace sat in front of the piano, playing softly, Simon silently plucking the bass strings, a boy with sandy hair -the one she'd seen eyeing the girl in the cafeteria- sitting at the drums, the drumsticks in his hands hovering over the snare. A redheaded girl was swaying around the room, singing to herself in a sweet voice.

_"Come along to the priest with me_  
_To the priest with me, to the priest with me_  
_Come along to the priest with me_  
_But she said to me, "How dare you"_

_She went along to the priest with me_  
_To the priest with me, to the priest with me_  
_She went along to the priest with me_  
_He tied us together" _she sang, and Tessa smiled.

"Sorry I'm late" voice said in the doorway, and Tessa looked up immediately. Will stood there, holding a green slip of paper (probably his late note) in his hand, and handing it to Mr Fell "I slept in".

"Of course you did William" Mr Fell smiled, though not nicely "of course you did".

Will sauntered over to Jace, and hopped up onto the piano, laying across it on his side, with his head propped up on his hand and his leg bent.

"Play for me baby" he said to Will seductively, before laughing as Jace banged the backs of his hands down onto the keys, grinning up at Will. He jumped off the piano and made his way over to the wall lined with guitars, and pulled an electric guitar off of it, shrugging the strap on and standing next to Simon.

"Could you play a G?" He asked, and Simon obeyed, plucking the last string on his bass. Will played the same note of his guitar and winced.

"Ohhh, these aren't in tune _at all_, are they?" He asked, and Simon shook his head in agreement, his fingers sliding up and down the frets.

Tessa, meanwhile, sat glued to her chair, wondering what to do next. She couldn't play any instruments and she couldn't sing. Maybe she could clap along or something? She doubted it.

"Musically handicapped too, I see?" Clary turned, and looked at who had talked to her. He was tall, and had a shock of bright red hair on his head, and nice hazel eyes, his face splattered with freckles. Tessa nodded as he drew up a chair.

"Don't worry, so am I" he said, smiling warmly at her. "Henry" he said, jerking his chin up.

"Tessa" she said, smiling, but it was a bit forced.

"I'm not sure why I took this class really, I guess I just needed a subject to fill up a space" he told her happily, slouching down in his seat.

"Yeah. I got put in this class, because I was too late to pick anything, since I didn't go to this school last year" Tessa said glumly, frowning.

"Oh, are you new?" He asked, raising his eyebrows, turning so his body was facing her.

"Yes" she admitted, fiddling with a loose strong on her shirt.

"Oh! I am too! We can figure this place out together!" He exclaimed, and Tessa couldn't help but grin. He was the kind of person who's happiness was infectious.

"Yes, we can" she agreed.

The entire day Tessa spent talking to Henry, and throughly ignoring Will, even looking at him made her want to melt into a puddle due to embarrassment. That was until she went to her last period, Geography, explaining to Henry why her favourite character was in fact her favourite character (Draco Malfoy - he was very neglected and adorable, and Tessa felt he should have been a bigger part of the books) when Will swooped in and hooked his arm around Henry's shoulder.

"Hey Henryyyy" Will said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi Will" Henry greeted, his cheeks pinking.

Tessa scowled. She was not going to be able to avoid the embarrassment forever was she? She turned to walk away, sitting in the corner of the classroom away from everyone else, hoping to get away from Will.

The lesson passed very, very slowly, and Tessa found herself nodding off as Mr Starkweather droned on and on about the prime meridian and rays of sunlight and the equator.

"America is a very interesting place on the world, because one of its most famous states is actually on a tectonic plat-"

"Oh sir!" Will yelled suddenly "don't talk about America! You might make the new girl homesick!" He threw the back of his hand on his forehand and made a swooning noise, to which the whole class laughed at.

Tessa had never felt so angry, her firsts shaking and her seeing red, glaring at Will. He wasn't even looking at her the bastard. She had thought that maybe he'd actually understood her, talking about how he himself missed his home country, taking the time to make her feel a tinsy bit better. But obviously that had been a joke to him, and she felt like her insides had just been turned to led.

When the period was over Tessa stormed out of the classroom before Will had ever even stood up from his seat, running to where she thought her room was. She found it, _thank the lord_, and turned the knob. It wouldn't open. Tessa had enough of this crap.

"Clary! Its me Tessa, open the door please" she yelled, banging her fist against it.

"One sec!" Clary called back. Tessa heard rustling and a large bang, before Clary answered the door without her shirt on, blushing. Tessa flushed and walked in, only to find no Jace.

"Is Jace here?" Tessa asked, raising her eyebrows, and looking around, and under Clary's bed.

"No" Clary said, shaking her head.

The wardrobe door burst and Jace rolled out, face first, covered in books and a large fluffy tu-tu.

"Woah! Jace! When did you get there?!" Clary said in mock surprise, and Tessa rolled her eyes.

**If you liked it, review, if you didn't let me know why so I can try my hardest to fix it :) Thankyou for reading, have a good day. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks again to the people that review, it makes me motivated to update quicker and just write in general, knowing people are actually reading and enjoying it :) **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Gabriel Lightwood was not the type of man to write poetry about a girl, or write poetry in general. The rest of his dorm mates were out, except for Jordan, who was taking what seemed to be the longest bath he'd ever. Besides, if one of them were to find him mournfully scribbling down poetry about Cecily Herondale he would prefer it to be Jordan, not Simon or Magnus. He knew he was a terrible writer, and wasn't even completely sure what exactly he was trying to accomplish out of it, because he wasn't going to give it to her, nor was he going to read it to anyone else. He scrunched the paper into a ball and threw it across the room into the small wastepaper basket near the bathroom door.

He couldn't believe he'd been bunked with this lot, considering who they were, and especially how they decorated. Jordan was the neatest, with his things piled up neatly and folded, with a blue bedspread on his sheets and a sports trophy and framed picture of him and his girlfriend on his nightstand. Simon, on the other hand, had gone all out, and had, although Gabriel hadn't the slightest clue how, snuck a mini fridge into the room, where he kept things the school didn't have. His bed was black with a red pillow, and his bass sat propped up against the wall across from his bed, a pile of comics spread out on his drawers. Then there was Magnus, the bombshell of roommates. His wall had been decorated with more photos than Gabriel had seen in one place before at one time, all of him at famous landmarks and with famous people. His eccentric clothes were scattered everywhere, and glitter covered every square inch of the floor around his bed. Gabriel often went to meet Cecily with a sparkly face, but at least he knew who to blame. He had a neon sign above his bed saying "MagnusB" on it, and he'd taken up the entire sink space in the bathroom with hair product and gel.

Gideon had gotten the quietest of roommates, as Gabriel knew he probably would, being the luckier of the two brothers. He could delve into the fact that Henry, Jonathan and Thomas were all very mellow people (or so he thought), when the rest of his roommates came into the room.

"Is Jordan _still in the bathroom_?" Simon whined, making a face, flopping down onto his bed.

"He's taking a bath," Gabriel said, opening his laptop and scrolling through his science assignment, just proofreading.

"Have you seen my note for the English homework?" Magnus drawled, his legs up against the wall. He leaned back so he was looking at Gabriel upside down, and Gabriel shook his head with a scowl.

"No, I haven't," he responded coldly, as Jordan stepped out of the bathroom, steam clouding around behind him.

"Hi" he smiled, laying down on his bed and picking up his phone, whistling softly the theme song to the office.

"Has anyone seen it? Because if they haven't I'm going to have to sift through the trash and I really don't want to do that" Magnus asked, and when no one responded, he kneeled down beside the bin and sighed. Thankfully for him, Gabriel thought, it was all papers, and all he had to do was look through them.

"Oh my" Magnus smirked, holding a particularly crumpled piece of paper and unfolding it "what is this?" He grinned at Gabriel, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach. _Oh christ, no_.

Magnus cleared his throat as Gabriel jumped off his bed and pounced on Magnus, trying to grab it from him. Magnus held it as far away from Gabriel as he could, and began to read out loud in an amused voice.

"Oh, my Cecily, for you I rhyme so messily, you are prettier than a goddess, you are the hottest, I really suck at this thing called poetry". Their was silence throughout the room, and Gabriel felt as though his face had burst up into flames, and he could feel his pulse in his nose. Then they were laughing, Simon rolling onto the floor, Jordan clutching his stomach and crying, and Magnus, chuckled under his breath.

For the first time ever, Gabriel Lightwood wanted to die on the spot.

**###**

Will sat on Tatiana's bed, in her room, talking politely to Charlotte Fairchild, one of the girls in Tatiana's room, along with two other girls named Aline and Kaelie. Will had known Charlotte in Primary school, and was quite happy to sit and talk with her, despite the circumstances. He was picking Tatiana up to break up with her, but she was currently out, doing something or another, so he sat on her ridiculously fluffy purple leopard print covers, and waited. Charlotte had always been very smart and very small, and Will thought she was one of the nicest people he'd ever had the pleasure to know, despite possibly his older sister Ella, who had passed away a few years back from Cancer. It still hurt to think about, so he tried his best not to.

"So I haven't talked to you since last term, how was your summer William?" Charlotte asked, smiling at him, her brown eyes crinkling in the corners.

"Come on Charlotte, just call me Will" he suggested, feeling out of place where he was.

"Sorry, old habits die hard. You didn't answer my question" she noticed and Will shrugged. He really hadn't done much over his summer vacation. He had hung out with Jem, gone home to Wales to visit the family, and slept for a good portion of the time.

"Really, I did nothing" Will admitted "nothing, at, all". "You?"

"Oh, me? Nothing, like you" she said awkwardly. Will could feel the conversation coming to a stop, and decided to quit while he was ahead, before she started talking about the weather.

"Its been great talking to you Charlotte, but I think I'll just go and look for her, if you don't mind". Charlotte nodded, and Will picked himself up and left the room, picking pink string off his sweater. It had been two weeks since school had started, and he hadn't done anything interesting yet, except set a plant in the science room alight with a bunsen burner, which didn't really count because it was stupid. He hadn't talked to Tessa since the first few days, and teasing her was boring, considering she didn't respond to it in any way. Most girls would have a go at him, or even kick him in the shins or in the worst case, cry, but she did nothing, just set her jaw and ignored him.

Then, she was there, coming from her room with her nose in a book. He saw the cover, and his stomach did a backflip. It was the Half-Blood Prince, and he wondered if he could stop himself from saying anything embarrassing. She bumped straight into his chest and looked up at his face. For a split second, her eyes were clear of any emotion, her lips forming the word_ sorry_, when she realised who it was, and her mouth turned up in a scowl.

"Oh, its _you_" she spat.

Will frowned.

"Oh, go ahead. Whats it this time? Wouldn't want to say anything that might make me cry? Want to remind me that the people in my book aren't real?"

"Actually," Will cleared his throat "I was picking up my girlfriend".

He saw Tessa flush, then push past him, sticking her book into her bag and half running half jogging down the bare white hallways. It didn't take much from him to catch up with her, and it was only a brisk walk to match her pace.

"Why are you so set on hating me?" He asked casually, as she tried to speed up, but he kept in time with her.

"Are you ignoring me? Very mature, Tessa" Will said, rolling his eyes. She glanced up at him, pure loathing in her expression, and Will guessed he deserved it, he had been an ass to her.

"Listen. I'm sorry that I've been acting like a dickhead to you lately" he apologised, though his grin probably made the apology less sincere.

She turned around suddenly, and Will was quite surprised by how pretty she looked. She wore her brown hair in a high ponytail, showing off the angles of her oval shaped face and making the grey in her eyes brighter.

"Why me Will, why? I get it, I'm new, but you don't have to be such a fucking idiotic douchebag" she yelled, and Will covered his mouth with his hand.

"Oh my god! You're allowed to swear! I'm not eighteen yet, do not defile my innocent ears with such bad language!" He said, satisfied by her look of rage. He followed her around the corner, and she pivoted around and slamming into his chest.

"Will" she said carefully. The anger in her voice had disappeared, replaced by something else "Will, turn around and go back".

"What?" He asked, confused. He tried to sidestep past her, but she moved with him.

"Will, I'm serious, don't go around the-" she warned, but Will pushed past her, curiosity getting the best of him.

He sucked in a breath of air sharply, and his eyes widened. In the bridge that connected the boys dorms to the girls dorms, a small space with two windows on either wall, making it able to see the courtyard on the left side and the garden on the other, was his girlfriend, soon to be ex girlfriend kissing Rupert Blackthorn. Her hands were twisted in his hair, and she had a very ugly kissing face, and was kissing Rupert very grossly. He had his hands on her waist, and Will felt the urge to hack up his lunch, fling himself out the window and laugh all at the same time.

Rupert was the first to notice, and gently pushed Tatiana away, who made a small noise of protest, like a dog's squeaky toy being stepped on. He ran his hand through his hair and pointed at Will, who drew his upper lip over his teeth and scrunched his nose.

"Oh my god William, I didn't think you'd see us here-"

"Because this is the private hallway right? Just for you and Rufus" Will sneered, and Tatiana burst into tears.

"Its Rupert, actually" Rupert corrected politely, and Will turned to him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Wow, you're a looker aren't you? How many times did your mother drop you when you were young?"

"Will!" Tatiana yelled, stamping her foot on the ground, tears leaving trails of black from left over makeup on her cheeks.

"_Will!_" He imitated in a high pitched voice, anger coursing through his veins like an adrenaline rush "its okay Tatiana, I'm sure you and Rusty will be very happy together".

Rupert made an impatient noise, and Tatiana sobbed harder into her hands. "Why are you so _cruel_ Will?" She screamed, and Will wondered why in hell she was crying.

"I think its safe to say we've broken up, yeah?" Will asked, his hand on his chin "better tell the boys, they'll be so pleased to find out".

"Now you take that back" Rupert said, shaking his finger at Will, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Make me, Remus" he taunted, smiling darkly at him. He walked away then, back the way he'd came, heat rolling off his body in waves, his arms trembling and his pulse jumping. Did he honestly just find _her_, Tatiana Lightwood, kissing someone else in a hallway, when he was about to break up with her? He'd always thought of her as one of those people that would always be in love with him, one of those girls that was always there if he needed them. He guessed he'd been wrong, and the thought made him turn and punch the wall next to him.

His fist went straight through the plaster, and he turned to see a shocked Tessa standing a few feet away.

"I'm so sorry Will" she apologised, running over to him and pulling his forearm out of the wall. Where she touched him a different kind of heat blazed up on his skin, and he almost smiled despite himself.

"Will, you're bleeding" she said seriously, examining his knuckles.

"Mmhmmm" Wil murmured, coming down off his anger high, just starting to feel that pain in his hand.

"No Will, you're bleeding a lot, like a lot a lot" Tessa pressed, and Will looked down at him arm. From his middle finger to halfway up his forearm was a large single gash, blood pumping out of it steadily. Blood had never made Will feel woozy, but there was a lot of blood everywhere now, dripping onto the blue carpet beneath him and onto his shoes. Tessa hurriedly shrugged off her jacket and balled it up, pressing it to his arm as Will sagged against the wall, suddenly very lightheaded.

"Will, stay with me here. I don't know where the nurses office is, you're going to have to tell me where to take you" she instructed, her voice steady. He nodded, but she was becoming blurry and a coming back and forth in focus. He blinked hard. He led her down the staircase, with her hand still pressing her jacket against his arm, stopping the bloodflow considerably, but the jacket was still ruined and covered in his blood.

Finally, they came to the nurses office, and when Tessa pulled Will through the door he was seeing spots.

"Oh!" The nurse screamed, and rushed over to them, pulling Will away from Tessa. Tessa let go of the jacket, her hands coming away red with Will's blood, and he would have said sorry if he hadn't had blacked out.

**Okay, what did you all think? I just want to comment that if I mess up on something small, like something to do with the British schooling system, please correct me or let me know, because the only information I could possibly get on that is through the internet. If you liked it, please review, follow or favourite, all three are appreciated. If you didn't like it, please tell me why. Thankyou for reading :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again to those who reviewed :) **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Tessa stood in her bathroom, furiously scrubbing her hands. They didn't have anymore blood on them, and they hadn't for awhile, but she couldn't stop seeing Will sagging against the Nurse, his mouth parting and his blood dripping into the floor. The nurse had told her to leave, and she was too shocked to say no, just leaving without question, which was how she got where she was now.

Her fingertips had gone pink from the amount of times she'd scrubbed them with a nailbrush, and she'd used up all the soap in the dispenser, but she couldn't stop washing her hands over and over again, thinking about the blood.

With a sigh, she gave up washing her hands, and lay down on her bed, exhausted. She couldn't remember what she was going to do in the first place, before she'd run into Will._ You were going tell Jem you weren't going, _she thought, and buried her face into her pillow. She didn't exactly _want_ to say she couldn't make it to the silly dance, but she didn't feel like it, and she wasn't on the best terms with everyone, considering she'd been avoiding them the past two weeks, and Jem probably didn't even want to go with her anymore anyway.

Without warning, a paper plane flew through the window, landing perfectly on the floor beside Tessa's bed. She picked it up and looked back out the window curiously, seeing Jem and Jace standing together, Jace holding a clipboard and scribbling down notes onto it, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth, and Jem folding another paper plane, saying something to Jace. Tessa threw the plane back, watching with satisfaction as it glided through the space between the blocks and hit Jem between the eyes. He looked up, startled, and smiled, waving. Tessa made a curious gesture, her palms facing up and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Science experiment!" Jem yelled, sticking his head out the window, and Tessa nodded, flashing him a brief smile before sitting back down on her bed and taking off her shoes. Even if Jem still wanted to go with her, she didn't have anything to wear, and it wasn't like Clary had any spare dresses, and even if she did they wouldn't fit her.

"You might want to close your curtains Tessa! Unless you want about fifty planes flying into your room!" Jem called out, his head still sticking out the window.

"Okay! Thankyou!" Tessa yelled, shutting her window and her ugly blue polka dotted curtains, coughing as they scattered dust all over her nightstand.

She lay on her bed and listened to the soft thunk of the paper planes hitting her window, hoping for Jem's sake that it didn't rain, as it probably would, since there had been large, dark rainclouds in the sky since yesterday.

There was knock on Tessa's door, which was strange, because Clary always let herself in, without warning. _Maybe its not Clary,_ she thought, getting up and opening the door. She was right, it was Will, his left arm bandaged, a bottle of water in his good hand and lollypop in his mouth. _  
_

"Oh, are you okay?" She asked, a little flustered, thinking he might be feeling like crap, and she didn't want to give him anymore grief. He'd just found his girlfriend cheating on him, and then he'd punched a wall and bled and passed out. _He must feel terrible_.

"Well, I almost had to have stitches, and they put me on laughing gas, and gave me this-" he set his water bottle down and pulled the lollipop out his mouth with a pop and held it out to Tessa "its strawberry flavoured".

"I see" Tessa laughed "and your arm?"

"I can't feel it" Will admitted, smiling childishly and shrugging his shoulders, jumping past Tessa and sitting on the spare bed nearest to the bathroom, and frowning.

"I'm sorry I ruined your jacket" he apologised, and Tessa waved her hand.

"Its all good" she said, still standing by the door awkwardly. She wasn't sure what to do exactly, should she wait for the medicine to wear off or tell him to leave? When she was six Nate had broken his arm, and had to have it re-broken and put into a cast, so they put him on laughing gas instead of morphine, since it was only a hairline fracture, and he'd told her where babies came from. From then on in she didn't take people on laughing gas seriously, and she wasn't going to start now.

"That wardrobe has all of Tatiana's shit in it doesn't it?" Will asked, blinking slowly, pointing at it.

"Yes..." Tessa said warily, moving to stand in front of it, thinking maybe Will might want to look through it or destroy some of her things. She didn't blame him though, and if he wanted to she'd let him, she just wanted to be able to tell Clary she tried to stop him without it being a lie.

"It's okay, all of my books are in there too" Will sighed, his arms laying on either side of his legs floppily. He was staring at the floor intently, the light in his eyes gone. She wouldn't have found the scene comical if it weren't for the stick of the lollipop stuck in his mouth.

"Bleh" he said suddenly, standing up and throwing back Tessa's curtains and opening the window, chucking the lollipop out of it and watching it fly over the roof of the boys' dorms.

Tessa went to stand beside him, catching Jem's eye from across the gap, his confused expression making her feel sad. He looked fairly like a lost puppy, and her heart ached for him.

"Hi Jem!" Will waved, sticking his body out the window, his hips stopping him from falling. Jace was still determinedly throwing paper planes out the window, a pile of them sitting on his bed, and writing down the results.

Will reached over to grab one of the planes, and almost toppled out the window.

"Will!" Tessa screamed, grabbing the back of his sweater and yanking him back in, falling over in the process. He stumbled back and stepped on her hand, and she cried out, sitting upright and holding it in pain.

"Sorry Tess" Will said, holding out his hand to help her up, which she took, feeling as he lifted her up with ease.

Tessa flinched as a rumble of thunder sounded overhead, and lightening flashed, brightening the room for a split second and playing off Will's eyes, making them flash. The sky opened up and rain poured down and through Tessa's window.

"OH, COME ON" Jace yelled, and Tessa couldn't stop herself from laughing, as well as Will, whose laugh was deep and satisfying to hear. Then a thought raced across Tessa's mind; if Jace was there, and Clary had said they were going out, where was Clary?

"Tessa" Will said quietly, his cheeks flushed and his voice slightly breathless from laughing.

"Yes?" She gasped, looking up at his face. He really was good-looking, almost annoying so. He would have been pretty if he wasn't as filled out as he was, with his broad shoulders and hardset jaw. He had such a nice face, and his lips had a crease in the middle of the bottom one, with long eyelashes that would make a girl jealous, and blue, blue eyes..

He leaned in and kissed her, much to her surprise, and her eyes flew open, her hands automatically jumping to his chest to push him away...but _why_? Her lips responded without her thinking, and her eyes closed, her hands relaxing. His lips tasted like artificial strawberry flavour, which wasn't surprising. His hands were clamped on her shoulders, which was confusing, and she fisted the material of his sweater in her hands. This was Will, who had sat with her in a library and talked about Wales, or who offered to let her borrow his books. But this was also the Will who had made fun of her for crying over homesickness, and Will who had then gone on to tell her books were stupid. Which was the actual him?

"Will," Tessa mumbled against his mouth, as his hands slid down to her waist. "Will" she said a little louder, and he pulled away, only by an inch, so she could see the bags under his eyes and the place where his irises were lighter blue than the outside ring.

"Oh, god" Will cursed, pushing Tessa away suddenly. The backs of her knees hit her bed, and she toppled over it, sick of falling down. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Jesus Christ Tessa" Will said, turning to look at her. His expression was one of utter horror, and he wondered if she was _that_ bad at kissing.

"Hey, _you_ kissed _me_" she pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

"I did, didn't I?" He said, almost to himself "I shouldn't have".

"Why?" Tessa couldn't stop herself.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Tessa" he said, and she felt anger flare up inside of her.

"If I didn't want to know the answer why would I ask it?" She said hotly, getting up off her bed.

"Tessa-" he started, his expression softening.

"Shut up Will, I don't want to hear it" she said, scarily calm "get out of my room".

"Tessa I didn't mean it-"

"I said, get out" she whispered, her nostrils flaring.

Will left silently, looking at her sadly for a second, before slamming the door behind him and leaving. Tessa wondered what she'd just done.

**This's a short chapter, but the next ones going to be reeaaallllyyy long, because its the dance and thats gonna be big. TessaxJem coming up, as well as TessaxWill and Clary and Jace and all the ships you could think of, its gonna be a _fandomplosion palooza_. If you liked it, please review! If you didn't, please let me know so I can try and fix it :) Thankyou for reading. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to everyone that reviews, it means a lot :) Also, its been brought to my attention that I've royally messed up with the english schooling system, and I'm _really_ sorry. I don't go to school there, so I sort of guessed a bit, and if its confusing I apologise. Just to set the record straight, I want to explain that I've written it so they've started high school in year nine, not in year 7, as they should have. I've also written it so that they finish in year 12. Sorry for the fuck up, once again, and I hope this makes it easier. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks everyone that reviewed ;D This chapter is going to switch back and forth between P. quite often and I'm sorry if its confusing. Also, this ones super long and will be split into two parts. **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Clary came back around ten at night, her mood exceptionally happy now that she'd won back her wardrobe. She'd promised herself last year she wouldn't go to anymore of Isabelle's poker games if she could help it, but she'd felt drawn to it, and had been playing for the past two weeks, and had finally earned back what she deserved. She had the right mind to run into her dorm and fling Tatiana's things (and Will's books, although she'd probably be gentler with them) out the window and into the rain and laugh while they slowly got ruined.

But when she breathlessly opened her door she stopped short. Tessa stood in front of the wardrobe, dresses and books scattered around her on the floor. She looked up like a cat being caught shredding the couch, her fingers holding a blue sundress tightly.

"I was going to tell you we won the space back, but I guess someone already told you" Clary said, trying to hide her disappointment. Maybe they hadn't, Clary didn't see how news could travel that fast, but why _else_ would Tatiana's clothes be all over the ground? Tessa tucked a piece of hair behind her ear nervously and dropped the dress to the ground with all the rest.

"That_ is_ why you're going through the wardrobe isn't it?" Clary asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Would you believe me if I said I was looking for Narnia?" Tessa said weakly, before flopping face down onto her bed. She said something Clary couldn't hear through the muffle of the pillow, and went to sit down next to her, stepping over one if Will's books. In truth, she felt bad for Tessa, who had had trouble making friends and getting used to the school, and Will had given her hell for it all.

"What's wrong, Tessa?" She asked, trying to sound like her mother with her soothing tone of voice.

Tessa sat up and folded her hands in her lap, looking sadly at Clary with her grey-bluey eyes. Thunder rumbled and Clary flinched.

"I was looking for dress" Tessa admitted, her head in her hands "because I didn't bring any and I know that if you had any they wouldn't fit me and Tatiana is about my height and it's all embarrassing and I'm so sorry-"

"Oh Tessa, it's fine" Clary assured, and hung her arm over Tessa's shoulder. "Why were you looking for a dress?"

"For that dance thing. Jem asked me to go with him" Tessa mumbled into her hands. Clary almost choked, and blinked hard._ Jem_? Asking someone to a dance? Last year he hadn't even gone, let alone asked someone to_ go_ with him?

"So you need a dress to wear?"

Tessa nodded.

"And the owner needs to be tall?"

Tessa nodded again, looking at Clary with pink cheeks.

"Say no more Tessa, _say no more_".

**###**

Simon plugged his bass into the amp, and looked around. Gideon sat idly at the drums, lounging back against the wall of the stage with the drumsticks in his hands. Jordan stood at the microphone, his hands gripping the stand, and Will was sitting on his amplifier, a blue electric guitar strapped to him, his legs swinging impatiently.

"So, I would greatly appreciate if you all would play for the dance" Mr Fell said from the dance floor.

They'd done the hall up all pretty, more so than the last few years when all it'd been a disco ball and streamers. This year red velvet had been draped onto the walls and fake candles and fairy lights were everywhere, twinkling and winking at him from his place onstage. Elegant dark wood furniture with purple tablecloths were scattered around the space, and just below the stage was obviously where the dancefloor was meant to be. It was eleven at night, and Simon had been called down in his pyjamas, along with Jordan and Gideon, but not Will, who seemed to be conveniently in jeans and basketball jersey, showing off the edge of a tattoo underneath his ribcage.

Jordan was the first to speak, his hastily thrown on sweatshirt inside out.

"We've never played before" he pointed out, his voice coming out loud through the microphone and Simon jumped. Jordan coughed, and stepped back from the microphone "together, that is".

"Great" Mr Fell said, smiling, holding his arms out "because you're only playing one song".

Gideon shifted uncomfortably on his seat, goosebumps visible on his arms, and rightly so, it was freezing in the hall.

"Wha-what if we have dates?" He asked in his deep voice, his hand half raised in the air like he was asking a question in class.

Mr Fell raised his eyebrows, and crossed his arms in front of him, blinking calmly at Gideon. He was the kind of teacher that knew how to get to students without threatening suspension or a phone call to their parents.

"Tough_ luck_ Mr Lightwood" he said, and then whipped out music sheets and examined them "I've picked out this meaningless dribble, because it_ is_ a homecoming dance". He hopped up onstage and passed the sheet notes to everyone, and when Simon got his, he scoffed.

"Really? Jessie's Girl?" He asked, having trouble making it out, since he hadn't had time to grab his glasses. Sure, he could play it, and really it wasn't the worst song they could have had to play, but maybe something a little less cliché?

"Sir, I've actually injured my hand so I can't play" Will rushed, his eyes a little bloodshot, his voice cracking. Simon could see where he'd hurt himself on his forearm, and knew that it wasn't in a spot that would prevent him from playing. It appeared though, before anyone could say anything to Will's lie, that Gideon had fallen asleep on the snare drum, and Mr Fell banged his hand down on the crash-cymbal, and Gideon lifted his head slightly, mumbling an apology.

"Oh, yes, William, you can and will play, because I need you to play acoustic for Bridget"

"But sir-"

"Go through it five times and then you may leave" Mr Fell said, sitting down on one of the tables, and crossing his legs.

Gideon shrugged and Will swore quietly, and Jordan scratched his chin and yawned. Gideon tapped the drumsticks together and Simon counted down in his head, balancing the music sheet on his knee. 1, 1, 3, 2, 3, 4...

**###**

"Oh this one would look gorgeous on you" Isabelle said, smiling and holding up a green dress in front of Tessa and Clary. The other girls in the cabin had woken up too, and were sitting up and watching Tessa try on Isabelle's dresses. Jessamine - Tessa learnt all their names on arrival - occasionally suggested dresses that went with Tessa's eyes, although she didn't seem to care at the exact same time. Maia would occasionally mutter something like "yeah it's okay" or "why am I awake for this" and Sophie hadn't said anything. Clary wasn't of any help, constantly suggesting random dresses then deeming them unfit for Tessa.

"Oooo I_ like_ that one!" Clary said, sounding a little too enthusiastic to be really happy.

Only Tessa's mind wasn't on dresses, or Jem, or the exact shade of her eyes, it was on New York. She thought of the memories and the places, the bustle of the city and the familiar smell of the city. She remembered the hotdog stand that was the only one Nate would go to, and the exact place that she'd learned how to ride a bike when her Dad had promised he wouldn't let go...

"Tessa?" It was Jessamine, surprisingly, her beautiful fair hair done up in a bun, loose pieces laying on her neck and temples.

"Yes?" She asked, startled that Jessamine had spoken to her directly.

"Is it true that Jem Carstairs asked you to go with him?" She asked, like it was the most important question in the world.

Tessa nodded warily, confused.

Jessamine turned around and looked over at Sophie, who looked like she might throw up. "Sorry Soph, looks like you'll be going alone" she said cruelly, then went back to picking under her fingernails. Sophie's face turned a bright shade of red, and she stood, her hands balled by her sides.

"Jessie, take that back" Maia said angrily, throwing Sophie an apologetic glance "you're just miserable because Nate graduated".

Tessa's head pricked up. "Nate?" She asked, looking at Jessamine in a new light.

"Yeah, he was her boyfriend. He graduated and moved to New Jersey" Isabelle said, bored, sitting on her bed and looking at a dress mournfully. Tessa had a bad taste in her mouth, and wondered why Nate had never told her be had a girlfriend, and one that was two years younger than him at that. Jessamine? Surely he only dated girls that deserved him, but perhaps, Tessa thought, she did.

"Tessa just try this one on" Clary said, oblivious to the fact that Jessamine had _dated her_ _brother_. Clary tossed her a white dress, and sent Tessa to the bathroom to change.

As soon as the door shut Tessa heard Clary yell.

"WHAT THE HELL JESSAMINE?" she screamed. Tessa shook her head and slipped the dress on, looking at herself in the small an slightly scratched mirror and nodded. This was probably the best one she'd tried on, even if the neckline was a little embarrassing and the open back was making her cold. It went in at the waist, going to just above her knees. It was sleeveless, and Tessa shivered and opened the bathroom door. Isabelle was the first to react.

"Oh you look so _tanned_!" She said, and Clary rolled her eyes and slapped her on the arm.

**###**

Will woke the next morning with the worst headache anyone could have, and his immediate idea was to stay in bed and sleep for longer. But no, sleep brought dreams and be didn't want anymore of those, so he got up and sat beside Jem's bed. Jem was awake, sitting up and doing his shoelaces, his silver hair falling in front of his eyes. Jace and Alec were still asleep, Jace snoring softly, his head buried under his pillow and Alec had managed to kick his blankets off onto the floor, spread out like a starfish.

"Hey" Jem greeted him, smiling "I'm sorry if I woke you, I was thinking of taking a walk".

"No, you didn't wake me, I've just got a headache" Will said, rubbing his temples.

Jem frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that" was all he said before getting up and walking to the door. Jem was in his usual hoodie and jeans, looking happy and almost a bit..._bubbly._

Halfway out the door he paused, and looked over at Will. "Are you going to the thing tonight, with anyone?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm playing" Will sighed, squeezing his eyes shut "are you?"

"Yeah. With the new girl, you know, Tessa?" He said cheerfully, grinning at Will before closing the door behind him. Will sat frozen, his eyes trained to the floor. Was there _another_ new girl named Tessa? There must have been, because if there wasn't Will was pretty sure he would throw his guitar at them from onstage when they danced. But then he stopped himself, this was _Jem_ he was talking about hurting, his bestfriend, practically his brother, who had always stepped aside for Will's needs and had never even complained. No, he wouldn't do anything to stop them, it would be cruel and unfair.

Besides, he needed to go and practise with the rest of the band in half an hour, not that he wanted to, but Mr Fell said they had to, since last night had been the shittiest at rehearsal he'd ever been to. He had a shower, got dressed and left, walking down to the hall with his head bowed, and wondered why he hadn't seen it. Tessa hadn't really talked to anyone over the time she's been here, but every now and then she'd talk to Jem, and had always smiled and laughed. He had just assumed that Jem had that effect on everyone, but evidently not.

He was early, and only Simon was there, and Will thought how he must have felt, being the third wheel to Clary and Jace, obviously in love with Clary, and only letting her do what she wanted and never telling her about his feelings. _He must be dying on the inside_.

He was idly plucking at the strings of his bass, his thumb resting on the _E_ string as he did so. He looked up at Will and pressed his glasses up his nose, and smiled. "I was just going through it, it's actually an easy song to play-"

"How the hell do you handle it?" Will asked suddenly, genuinely curious.

"Handle what?" Simon asked, confused.

"You know. Clar-"

"Hello and welcome" Mr Fell interrupted as Gideon and Jordan joined them onstage, Gideon looking happier than Will had ever seen him and Will hating him for it.

"I hope you all thought long and hard about how much of a failure you were last night, and I hope that motivates you to be better this time around" Mr Fell said, looking at them all in the eyes with calm seriousness. Usually Will might say something smart or funny, but he didn't really have it in him today.

Gideon clapped the drumsticks together, and then they started playing. Will's heart wasn't really in it, but he played anyway as Simon came in and Jordan starting singing. They played until the end, and Mr Fell was sitting on a table with his hand on his chin.

"Again. In eight hours the room will be full of people and I want it to be perfect".

**###**

Gabriel, Thomas, Cyril and a girl called Maia had been chosen to help with setup. Gabriel, naturally, felt this was above him, but the teacher said he'd fail him in music if he didn't, so he didn't complain. Thomas and Cyril seemed fine with it and Maia looked moody, but didn't say anything.

But Gabriel couldn't take back the shock when he walked into the hall and seen Gideon. Gideon had played drums since he was ten, and had been rather good at it, but their father had always sent him into the garage to play because it was too loud. He supposed that drumming was Gideon's vice, and he looked steely calm, his eyes trained on the drums in front of him, and he was very good. Will was on electric guitar, and although he was great with it he seemed to be deflated, like a popped balloon. Jordan was talented, his voice suiting the song well, and Simon was probably good, but Gabriel couldn't hear him over the rest of the instruments. Beside him, Maia sucked in a breath, and Jordan looked up and turned red, smiling as he sang and looking down at his feet. Will looked up straight into Gabriel's eyes with his own, so much like Cecily's that it was startling, and he felt his stomach drop. Will had never liked Gabriel, and vice versa, but they shared a common interest, even if Will didn't know it.

Gabriel went to work, setting up lights and plugging in leads, getting sicker and sicker of the song Jessie's Girl as the time ticked by, and they played over and over again by demand of Mr Fell.

Finally, at about three in the afternoon, they stopped, as Gabriel had ages ago, sitting at one of the tables with Cyril and debating football.

"Okay, you're almost good to go" Mr Fell declared happily, cracking his knuckles.

"_Almost_ good to go?" Jordan asked, outraged, a sheen of sweat on his forehead from the hot lights facing him.

"We've been playing for _ages_" Will said, moving the hair out of his eyes "my fingers are going to start bleeding soon".

"I suppose you could take a break while Bridget practises" Mr Fell suggested and they all groaned a unanimous _yes_, and got up and left the stage without a second word. The hall doors opened and Cecily rushed in, looking around for Will, Gabriel guessed. But no, when she caught sight of Gabriel she rushed over to him and flung her arms around him.

"Did you know there's a dance going on today?" She asked a little breathlessly, like she'd run to the hall.

Gabriel smiled down at her, and nodded, forgetting himself and putting his hands on her waist.

"You never asked me to go with you!" She scolded, but she was smiling, so Gabriel didn't take her seriously.

"I thought that Will-"

"Screw Will, I want to go to a dance with you" she grinned, and stood on her tippy toes to kiss him.

Gabriel responded almost instantly, bending down a little so he could kiss her more easily.

"HEY" Will yelled, coming out from the curtains with the rest of the band. Gabriel and Cecily looked up at Will, who's eyes were blazing, his mouth in a firm line and his fists shaking at his sides.

He jumped down from the stage and stalked towards Gabriel, who had let go of Cecily, and had out his hands up in front of him.

"_What the fuck do you think you're doing_?" Will seethed, his nostrils flaring and his cheeks flushed red. Gabriel shrugged and Will grabbed his shoulders and shoved him back against the wall. Mr Fell was nowhere to be seen, and Thomas and Cyril were now both standing, getting ready to hold Will back. _I'm not afraid_ _of you_, Gabriel thought coolly, but after another glance at Will that thought got thrown out the window. Will was going to kill him or at least_ try_ to, and Cecily was by his elbow yelling at him, but he hasn't seemed to notice, his eyes on Gabriel and Gabriel alone.

"She's not a child you need to protect, Will" Gabriel pointed out hotly, standing up straighter and being satisfied he was slightly taller than Will.

"That's not for you to decide" Will yelled, shoving Gabriel again in the chest, making him hit his back on the wall.

Gabriel, despite not wanting to make Cecily disappointed by hurting Will, couldn't hold himself back. He didn't want to look like a wimp just letting Will push him around, and he started forward, but Cyril caught him by the shoulders and held him back with amazing strength. He grunted as Gabriel fought against him, and Cecily huffed and stood between them, turning to Will.

"It's not for you to decide either!" She yelled, shaking a finger at Will, and his chest heaved with anger.

"You are a little girl Cecy, he's older than you! And you could do_ so much_ better!" He yelled into her face, and she stood calm with her arms crossed, her back to Gabriel.

"Oh Will, won't you shut up?" She asked calmly, her voice low, before she turned on her heel and walked out of the room without even looking at Gabriel.

Will watched her go, then turned to Gabriel and stared at him, his eyes blue flames.

"You go near her again and I'll kill you" he threatened him, as Cyril loosened his grip on Gabriel's shoulders.

"Go ahead and try" Gabriel invited, spreading his arms out and wide and walked towards Will "you'll only make her sad".

"Don't test me" Will said, his voice low.

** ###**

Clary paced the floor nervously, her dress making it hard to breathe. It was gold, and tight, tight enough to make her think she was hyperventilating. Tessa was in Isabelle's room, having her hair and make-up done, leaving Clary alone to worry. Worry about what, she wasn't sure, but she still worried anyway. She wasn't wearing heals, so she'd still be short next to Jace.

There was a knock at her door and she thought she was going to faint as she reached for the handle and twisted it open. Jace was standing there with his usual cocky grin on, and she was satisfied to see his eyes widen briefly, and then he looked back up and at her face.

"You look beautiful" he said softly, and in truth, so did he. He was wearing black jeans and a white dress shirt, loosely buttoned and a bow tie that hadn't been done up around his neck. Clary could see the outline of his collar bones and loved the way the colour white made him look so tanned, his hair in its usual golden and curling state.

"So do you" she said, smiling gently and touching her hand to his cheek. He leaned into it, and someone coughed behind them. It was Will, wearing a black button up, black pants and a black blazer. He was all dark, except for eyes, startlingly blue, and all Clary could think was how good looking the two of them were. _God bless genetics_.

"Sorry to break up your touching moment" he said, not sounding sorry at all "but have you seen Jem? I think he's taking Tessa to the thing...?"

Clary narrowed her eyes at him. _What was he hiding_?

"No, we haven't" Jace told him, before bending down and scooping up Clary bridal style. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kicked her feet, grinning from ear to ear, and Will rolled his eyes.

"Hey, if you don't wanna see it don't watch" Jace said, and Will nodded, looking distracted, his hands in his pockets.

"Yup" he muttered, popping the _p_. Will rocked back onto his heels as Jace made off down the hallway, past the open of doors of girls getting ready, rushing back and forth and checking their mirrors.

Clary wondered what would happen if Jace were to trip. Would he land on top of her? Would he throw her across the hall in front of him as he fell? But Jace wouldn't fall, she knew he wouldn't. He carried her down the stairwell, grinning down at her every now and then. They came up to the hall and went to the door. Mr Starkweather was standing outside the doors, a bag in his hand, and gave Jace a disapproving glance before stopping them.

"Take a mask" he said, holding out the bag for them to take.

Jace bent his knees and tilted Clary down so she could put her hand in and grab one. She pulled out a green mask and Jace pulled out a white one. Mr Starkweather opened the door and they walked in. Music blared around them and everywhere were girls and guys in masks and dresses and suits. Clary couldn't see any of her friends except for Simon who was the only one of stage, plugging in his bass. She waved to him, but he didn't seem to notice, or if he had he chose to ignore her. How To Be a Heartbreaker was playing loudly, and Jace set Clary down, smiling at her.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked, lights playing off the gold in his eyes.

"I'd love to" she smiled, as be held her hand above her head a twirled her, even if it didn't suit the music.

**###**

Clary wasn't in their room, and Tessa was panicking. Isabelle had gone, as well as all the other girls, except for one: Sophie. She stood outside of her room, wearing a pretty blue dress, hugging her elbows nervously. Tessa went over go stand by her, knocking her fists together.

"So who are you waiting for?" She asked, trying to make conversation casually, but her voice cracked.

"Um, Gideon Lightwood" Sophie said. She'd done her hair to cover the scar on her face, but Tessa thought she would look pretty even with it showing.

"Oh, I think he's in my class. Tall, blond, green eyes?"

Sophie nodded, and Tessa could feel her literally losing interest in the conversation, and she quit trying.

Eventually Gideon came, apologising thoroughly for being late, and blushing and being adorable. Tessa sighed, and wondered if possibly Jem might've forgotten? Just as that thought popped into her head she saw silver headed Jem running down the hallway, a blue tie flapping behind him.

"I'm so sorry I'm late" he said, wheezing, his hands on his knees.

"Oh it's fine" Tessa said, as Jem picked himself and smiled at her.

"You look amazing" he said, and Tessa felt herself blush, and Jem grinned. It was the sort of smile that made her feel happy, like there was no darkness, only joy and smiling Jem's.

He held out his hand for Tessa to take, and she took it gratefully. His hands were warm, and she prayed that hers weren't sweaty or cold. They walked down the empty corridor in silence and down the stairs. "Now be warned Tessa" Jem said, as they approached the grumpy teacher standing in front of the hall doors "this may be terrible". They each grabbed masks, Jem's getting a black one and Tessa a red one, before he held her hand up like they were about to dance in the eighteen hundreds, and opened the doors.

Truthfully, she'd expected it to be better than they all said it was going to be, but this was amazing. It was all very grand and beautiful, with velvet and dresses and masks. Charlotte and Henry were visible on the dance floor, Henry's hair making him stand out and his red and blue striped waistcoat a curious sight.

And on stage, was Will. He was looking straight at her, his eyes burning. He looked stunning, but she told herself she didn't care, not one little bit. She was here with _Jem_, nice, funny, cute, Jem.

"They're playing Jessie's Girl" Jem said near her ear, leaning in and making her shiver.

Jem laughed. "Will came in at twelve at night with the school's guitar strapped to his back" he said to Tessa, who wished he wouldn't talk about Will.

"Do you want to dance?" She asked him, looking up at him.

"Sure" Jem shrugged, walking hand in hand towards the dancefloor with Tessa.

**###**

Will was ready to play, as was everyone else. He wasn't nervous, but he was starting to feel the urge to stage dive and run out the hall, watching with envy as Jem danced with Tessa. She looked beautiful, which sucked, and he wished so hard he was Jem, just for a moment. Tessa looked up at him, and Will knew she was trying to make him jealous. In all honesty, it was working, she'd succeeded. He'd been a dick, now she was calling him on it.

Simon knocked Will out of his trance by tapping him on the shoulder.

"You ready?" He asked, and Will nodded. Gideon clapped the drumsticks together, as he had a good fifty times earlier today. And they were off. Will played, as Jordan started singing, his voice coming out loud.

"_Jessie is a friend. Yeah I know he's been a good friend of mine_".

Will felt his body go rigid as Jem put his hands on Tessa's waist.

"_But lately something's changed. It ain't hard to define Jessie's got himself a girl, and I want to make her mine_".

Will scowled and felt the familiar burn on his fingertips from the rough strings distract him from the way Tessa was looking up at Jem.

"_And she's watching him with those eyes. And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it. And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night_" Jordan held the microphone tightly, and Will messed up as Tessa kissed Jem. Gideon banged away on the drums, pounding into Will's head with each beat. Will cursed and continued to play, watching as Jem broke away from her, smiling, his usually pale face lit up bright red.

"_You know I wish that I had Jessie's girl. I wish that I had Jessie's girl. Where can I find her, a woman like that? Like Jessie's girl. I wish that I had Jessie's girl. Where can I find her, a woman... Where can I find her, a woman like that?_"

Will felt like he was in a bad dream, where he was watching something he wanted to stop, but couldn't do anything to stop it. And she looked so hot, it was like torture. The song he was playing was making more and more sense. This wasn't fair. Surely he could tell Jem that he had feelings for Tessa? He would understand and step aside? But by the way that he was looking at Tessa made Will think differently.

Will wasn't ready to give up just yet though, and he wouldn't.

**Aghhhh okay, part two tomorrow, yeah? Is it terribly obvious that I love Gideon Lightwood by the way? If you liked it please review, if you didn't let me know why. Next chapter: Malec, Clace, Wessa, Jessa, and just an explosion of ships, more like an armada really. Thankyou for reading! **


	9. Chapter 9

******PART TWOOOOOOOOOOO :D **

**Thanks for the reviews, they keep me motivated to update and just shove fluff into the story wherever I can *hint hint* **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Tessa felt mildly sick to her stomach. Not from kissing Jem, that had been nice, but _why_ she kissed him. She must have looked like such a tramp, kissing him so early on, and so publicly. He didn't seem to mind though, and was smiling broadly at Tessa, his cheeks red and his eyes bright. She felt bad - so bad that her heart felt like it was being painfully expanded - about kissing Jem when she knew she liked Will. But yet, she liked Jem as well, almost as much. The way she felt about Will was like having someone always in her face, constantly there and taking effect, whereas the way she liked Jem was the way she liked to lay in the sun and sleep, more peaceful and relaxing.

The masks sat on the bridge of Tessa's nose, just above her cheeks. Everyone around her could probably see her blushing, and she looked up at Will, finding his gaze on her. He wore a black mask like Jem, his eyes still blazing, a scowl twisting his mouth down, and Tessa, angry with herself and with Will and with her parents who'd moved her here, raised her arm and waved at him.

His shook his head, a rueful smile playing on his full lips. The song ended, and Will carelessly shucked the guitar off and pulled the lead out, dragging it offstage with him as the rest of the band left, the crowd cheering and whooping, Maia getting picked up by Thomas to cheer at Jordan, who waved shyly, flushing deeply. Jem, beside Tessa, was whooping and clapping, as was Jace, who was the loudest screaming: "THAT'S MY BOY".

Tessa felt dizzy, as everyone stopped clapping and Bridget stepped out, along with Will, who now had an acoustic guitar strapped to him, looking like he might punch the wall again, scowling with his eyebrows pinched together. Jace dashed by Tessa in a desperate scramble go the stage, running up the stair on the side of it and dashing to the piano in the corner, and cracking his knuckles. The crowd of kids laughed, and Jace turned and grinned at them, _probably making every girl's heart splutter,_ Tessa thought, her's sure had.

Bridget adjusted the microphone so that she didn't have to go on her toes to sing into it, and Will stood where he was, looking blankly at the back of the room. Bridget coughed, and then said in her high pitched Irish accent "this is a slow dance".

Before Tessa could comprehend what was happening, Jem had grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, resting his chin on her head.

"What're you doing?" Tessa whispered, looking at him. He looked at her like she'd grown another face.

"It's a slow dance...?" He said, before letting go of her and stepping back "unless you don't want to dance with me, which is completely fine".

Tessa looked over her shoulder at Will, who was smirking evilly, and turned back to Jem.

"Of course I want to dance with you" she said, and she _really_ _did_, not just because of Will. She wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head to his chest, hearing the steady heartbeat beneath it as Jace skilfully began to play the piano, his fingers brushing the keys softly.

Jem hugged her shoulders, and she felt so unbelievably comfortable in the that moment she could have stayed there her whole life.

"_You're just too good to be true_," Bridget sang, her voice coming out sweet and slow, as Will played along gently. Tessa felt Jem's chest shake with a soft laugh, and she looked up at him.

"What's so funny?" She whispered, mesmerised by the silver of his eyes.

"Nothing" he breathed, smiling down at her "it's just that _Will_ usually gets the girl".

"_Can't take my eyes off of you. You'd be like heaven to touch_".

Tessa's stomach dropped, and she sagged against Jem a little more, squeezing her eyes shut to block out his words.

"_I wanna hold you so much_".

She felt icky all of a sudden, feeling Will's stare burning holes in her back and Jem's embrace too warm, like she was hugging a stove.

"Jem, I don't feel so well" she admitted quietly, gently removing his hands from her and looking up at him "I'm just going to get some water, stay here". She walked away, turning her back on Jem and leaving him staring after her confusedly, his expression a little hurt.

She pushed open the doors and walked left down a hallway lined with classrooms, stopping when she saw a couple dancing alone in hallway. They were both swaying gently along to the soft music that was muffled through the emergency exit door. One was wearing a frayed black hoodie and jeans, the other a blue tuxedo, both their heads resting on each other's shoulders, dancing in the dark of the unlit hallway. Tessa recognised Alec immediately, Jace's friend, always by his side. She didn't know who the other boy was, but she felt terrible for interrupting their private moment, and also terribly sorry that they felt they couldn't dance in there with everyone else, under the lights and with the music.

She turned and walked away silently, Bridget's muffled voice seeming to come from everywhere. It seemed as though she'd sung the bit of the song that was actually quite fast paced slowly as well, and with only the guitar and the piano to accompany her, it sounding beautiful. But all Tessa could think about most of all, was that she wanted to be home, with familiar soil underneath her feet and the city noises all around her.

She pushed open the door and found Jem quickly, spinning Clary around as she smiled, since she didn't have a dance partner when Jace was playing. For a split second Tessa wondered who else would have been partnerless while Will was playing, then remembered that no one was. Will had come alone, with Tatiana visible in the corner dancing with the guy Tessa had seen her with the day Will had punched the wall. The day Will had kissed her.

She shook the thought away and sat down at one of the many vacant tables, and looked around. All the dancing couples made her feel oddly at peace, since she was just watching, which she honestly preferred.

She spied Gideon and Sophie, Gideon with his eyes closed and his hands on Sophie's waist, her arms wrapped around his neck. Charlotte stood on Henry's toes, both of the smiling at each other happily, and then there was the girl Cecily, Jace's cousin and Will's younger sister (she'd asked Clary who'd told Tessa who she was earlier that week) dancing with a tall boy, with curling brown hair and regal features in the corner up the back, in the shadows. _But still in the hall_, Tessa thought sadly, thinking of Alec in the corridor.

The song ended, and everyone pulled away and clapped at Bridget, who curtsied and left, followed by Will, who's back was slumped and his head down.

Jace however, ran to the edge of the stage and spread his arms wide, closing his eyes and jumping. Tessa jumped forward in her seat, as if she could somehow catch him, like she thought the crowd would. But they didn't, they literally _parted_ away from Jace, letting him fall to the floor.

He jumped up, shaking his head and blinking as everyone laughed, and Simon yelled out a diving score (7 1/2!) without humour.

"It's okay Babe! Walk it off!" Clary called to him, barely able to hold back the laugh in her voice. He walked over to her in the crowd and grinned, as Jem stepped aside laughing.

Tessa felt bad really, for leaving halfway through a slow dance, but she needed time to think. Think about what she wanted to do now. Jem or Will? Her first thought was Jem, who was so nice and gentle, but then her mind threw Will in the mix. She thought about sitting back and watching as Will went out with someone else, and couldn't bear to even _think_ about it.

_What a dilemma she had_.

"Tessa!" Jem called, raising his hand to her from where he stood, smiling at her. She was so confused.

_Or maybe_, she thought, _the fact you have to think about which one you want means you don't deserve either of them_.

She got up and walked towards Jem, putting on a smile and taking his hand. "Are you bored?" He asked her, his eyebrows furrowed as he bent down and examined her face, frowning. Tessa shook her head, but knew Jem could see that she wasn't really enjoying herself.

"Listen, Tessa, you can go if you're bored you can go. I don't want you to be unhappy" Jem said understandingly. If Tessa didn't know Jem she'd have thought he was trying to persuade her into leaving, but she knew he was genuinely concerned she wasn't having fun.

"No, I'm fine, really. Its just, its loud in here isn't it?" Tessa yelled over the noise of the next song that started playing over the speakers, and everyone started dancing again, or more just...jumping up and down.

"It _is_ loud" Jem agreed, nodding. He reach up and took Tessa's elbow, leading her to one of the tables near the back, away from the amps and speakers, no longer smiling.

"Are you alright Jem?" She asked, because its what he would have asked her. He took his mask off with a snap and sat down at a table, his face paler than a minute ago.

He nodded, but looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"Jem, you don't look so well" she said, still standing over him, taking off her own mask, the feeling of unease growing in her stomach.

"Um, I'm just, a bit...uh, sick" he managed, swallowing hard, his hands holding the fabric of the table cloth so tightly that his knuckles had gone white.

"Sick?" Tessa asked, even if thats what he had just said. "James" he said, immediately getting his attention "if you are sick then we should leave".

He stood quickly, the chair he was sitting on squealing as it got pushed back. "No! No, don't go. I'll just leave, and you can stay, I don't want you to leave just because of me" he said hastily, before tipping forward slightly, like he might be drunk.

"Listen to me, I'm going to take you back to your room now" Tessa said, concerned greatly for Jem. He nodded, looking green.

She led him out of the hall and up the staircase, and when they reached his room she stopped.

"Whats wrong?" She asked, seeing the disappointed look on his face, and wanting so badly to make him feel better however she could.

"I'm just so sorry" he said, leaning against the door "I really am".

"Jem, its absolutely fine" she said gently, putting her hand on his shoulder, and looking up into his eyes and gasping. His pupils were so large there was hardly any silver left, and his face was pale, but his cheeks were bright.

"JEM!" She yelled, holding both his shoulders now "seriously, do you need me to get the nurse or someone?"

Jem shook his head and fumbled for the door handle, finally finding it and opening the door.

"Jem, are you going to be alright?" She asked him, so nervous her fingertips were tingling.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I just need to take some medicine" he mumbled, before turning and around and grabbing her chin and kissing her roughly, his mouth hot with fever. Tessa closed her eyes leaning into his kiss, and sighing involuntarily when he pulled away, his eyes wide and a smile on his face despite the conditions.

"Okay, go back to the dance now" he laughed, running his fingers through his hair so it stood on end. Tessa nodded, shell shocked, and turned around and walked out, her eyes large and unblinking. She numbly walked down the stairs and back into the hall, her feet leading her unconsciously back into the hall.

**###**

Isabelle loved the song playing, but without anyone else dancing with her it was kind of boring. Only Girl In the World was the kind of song you danced with a boy to, and Isabelle was severely pissed off that she hadn't been asked by anyone. Well, she _had_, but no one she wanted to go with, and the thought made her huff and cross her arms in front of her. Clary and Jace were dancing together over in the centre of people, making her sort of want to throw up a tinsy bit.

She turned to her left suddenly, promising herself she'd dance with the nearest guy before the chorus came on. Sitting directly to her left was a boy with glasses and brown hair, a red tie tied loosely around his neck and a black button up on, slouching alone in his seat looking grumpy. Isabelle shrugged inwardly and pointed to him.

"You" she said, watching as he looked up, surprised "dance with me". She grabbed him by his tie and pulled him up with her, and he pushed his glasses up his nose nervously. She turned and pushed herself up against him, and she heard him gulp.

" Oh, my, god" he whispered under his breath "_oh my god oh my god oh my god_".

**###**

Cecily sat with Gabriel at the back of the room, smiling at his awkwardness and the way he acted. He was jumpy in his seat, always pulling his collar away from his neck like classic comedians did when no one laughed at their jokes, licking his lips and running his hands through his hair.

"Why are you so nervous?" She asked him, leaning in, and he shied away from her like she was a hot flame.

"Um, well Will, firstly" Gabriel admitted "and secondly, your dress zips down in the front".

"So?" Cecily asked, making a face and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, its just...tempting" he shrugged, grinning. Cecily was glad he was smiling, but slapped him on the arm lightly anyway.

"You men are such idiots" she decided, putting her chin on her hand. Gabriel, forgetting himself again to Cecily's delight, leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, smiling slightly as he did so.

And then he was gone, an angry Will standing over Cecily.

_Oh, for christ's sake_, Cecily thought, rolling her eyes and stepping in front of Will.

"Get out of my way Cecily, I'll talk to you later" Will said through his teeth, pushing her aside roughly. Cecily wouldn't have thought anything of it, Will pushing her, because he was her older brother and thats what older brother's did, they pushed and shoved and gave bruises. Gabriel though, _did_ think something of it, and stood up from his place on the floor where Will had shoved him.

"Don't push her like that" he ordered, scowling.

"Don't go near my little sister again" Will shot back, his voice low.

Gabriel made the move to go and stand next to Cecily, reaching his arm out and touching her cheek softly, his eyes full of concern, when Will reached out and snapped Gabriel's arm. Gabriel's green eyes widened, and he let out a moan, holding his arm to his chest and sinking down into a chair.

"Don't listen to me again and I might just break the other one" Will threatened, and Cecily was about ready to break _his_ arms. Gabriel's face was twisted in pain, and he looked up at Will with absolute hate, shaking his head. Cecily knew the only reason he hadn't tried to hurt Will as well was that he knew it would make her sad, so he didn't. And she loved him for it.

"Will" she said sweetly, and he turned to look at her, his expression oddly puzzled.

"Yes?" He asked, blinking.

Cecily reached her fist back and swung it forward, hitting Will in the jaw with all the force she could muster.

**###**

The dance was coming to end, and Tessa was still sitting by herself in a corner, playing with the edges of her dress, when Isabelle approached her, holding plastic bags in her hands, full of bottles.

"Do you want to come and get drunk with me?" She asked Tessa, as if it was the most casual question someone could ask another person.

Tessa blinked, not sure if she'd heard right. "Excuse me?"

"You've had a crap night, yeah? Well _do you want to come and get drunk with me?_" Isabelle asked again more impatiently.

Tessa had never gotten drunk before, and had never really wanted to. Sure she'd had a glass of champagne once at a wedding, and taken a sip from Nate's beer just to see how it tasted. But drank just to get drunk? Never.

But the imagine of Jem kept appearing behind her eyelids, all pale and feverish. She wouldn't mind forgetting for awhile, just a little bit.

"O-okay" she stammered, and stood up.

"Cool, some more people are coming too" Isabelle said, turning and walking away, Tessa on her heels. Tessa followed Isabelle to the gym, where on the bleachers sat a bunch of kids, some Tessa recognised and some she didn't. She thought about what her parents would think about what she was doing right now, and decided that just in this moment, she didn't honestly care.

**###**

Will sat with his pants rolled up to his knees, his feet and calves in the school's pool. When Will had first came here, he always had thought that it was amazing, going to school with its own pool, where he could come everyday after classes and swim for as long as he wanted to. As it turned out, he hardly ever swam here, if ever, and rarely even came over to this part of the school. But now, with the left side of his face stinging where Cecily had punched him, it was quite peaceful just sitting there with the water on his legs. The room smelt like chlorine, and he couldn't decide whether he liked it or not.

_Why Gabriel Lightwood, of all people? _Will asked himself. He kicked his foot in the water angrily, making a splash.

"Will?" A voice echoed through the room, coming from the entrance. He turned his torso so he could look behind him, and spied Tessa, her head sticking through the doorway, her eyes large.

"Tessa?" Will asked, shocked. How had she found him? _Why_ had she found him?

She came and sat down next to him, taking her shoes off and putting her feet in the water like him. She smelled strange.

"I looked _everywhere_ for you" she mumbled, looking out over the pool "I asked_ sooooo_ many people where you were, you like, have like, no idea".

Will raised and eyebrow and looked away from her, asking himself what she smelt like it. It was sickly sweet, like burnt sugar and cough syrup all mixed together. He turned his body to face her again, his eyebrows raised and his eyes wide.

"Tessa..." he paused "Tessa are you _drunk_?"

"No" she shook her head, before looking up at his face "well, maybe a little bit". She held up her thumb and forefinger to show the little bit, bringing it up to her eyes and squinting as if she couldn't see the gap between them.

"_Goddamn Isabelle_" Will muttered, shaking his head.

"You are _really_ talented on guitar" Tessa said suddenly, looking up at him with a goofy smile "but you messed up when I kissed Jem".

Will choked, and coughed loudly, looking down at her. She might start blabbering soon, she might spill all her secrets. He wasn't sure he wanted that.

"Did I now?" He asked, smiling despite himself.

"Yep" she said cheerfully, leaning forward and almost falling in the pool, but Will caught her arm and straightened her.

"Maybe we should get you back to your dorm?" Will suggested, chuckling a little bit.

"_Noooooooooooo_" Tessa said, shaking her head quickly at Will "no way". She sounded final, and Will didn't know whether or not to abide by the 'don't argue with a drunk person' rule or not.

"Why not?" Will asked gently, letting go of her arm.

"Because I spent so long looking for you!" Tessa said, like it was obvious.

"Tessa, for the love of god, please let me take you back to your room before you tell me something you'll regret later" Will tried to convince her. She sighed and stood up, waiting for him to follow.

He stood, and she leaned in to kiss him awkwardly, falling in the pool as she did so, and grabbing onto the front of his shirt and pulling him down with her. Will went toppling in after her, jumping up and gasping for air, glad he was in the shallow part of the pool.

He turned to glare at Tessa, who's hair was now hanging around her shoulders in wet strings, laughing harder than he'd ever seen her laugh.

"You know this isn't funny!" Will yelled, but almost felt like laughing himself.

"It kind of is" Tessa disagreed, wading over to the ladder and climbing up, her dress stuck to her body and dripping with water. Will _tried_ to look away, he really did.

"What _happened_ to your _face_?!" Tessa asked, pressing her fingertips lightly to his jaw when he climbed out of the pool, her expression concerned.

"Cecily punched me" Will said, trying to ignore the zap that went to his toes from her fingertips on his face "because I broke her boyfriend's arm".

"Well, that_ is_ a good reason to punch someone" Tessa pointed out, her entire palm pressed to his face gently. Will sighed and closed his eyes. His clothes were heavy and wet, dripping onto the ground, his feet bare.

"I'm sorry I pulled you into the pool" Tessa whispered, looking up at him with big grey eyes. She leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his jaw, right were Cecily's fist had connected with it. Will stood frozen, feeling as she kissed along his jaw, the direction of kisses leading to his lips. He gulped, and as she pressed her lips to his, he reminded himself _she's drunk, she'd cringe if she knew what she doing right now_.

He held her wrists and pushed her away from him slightly, and she looked up at him, hurt.

"Tessa-" He started to say.

"No, its fine. I can go to my room myself" she said, her voice sounding sober. She turned on her heel and stormed away.

_I'm an idiot, _was all Will thought.

**###**

Isabelle woke up in a room that wasn't hers. It was empty, no one in the other beds, and a guy's arm wrapped around her shoulders. She picked up his fingers, and travelled the length of his arm with her eyes, following it up to a his face. He looked different without his glasses, and his brown hair messy and tousled, but she still knew who it was. Simon Lewis.

_Shit_.

**Yup, so there you have it. Part two, not as long as part one but ah well. If you liked it please review, its greatly appreciated, and if you didn't, please, write to me on PM and tell me why so I can (hopefully) improve it. Thankyou for reading :)) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to you guys who reviewed ;) **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Will stood with his knuckles hovering over Tessa's door, holding his breath. It was Sunday, and he was tired and had a headache, and promised himself that all he was here for was to return her shoes, nothing more. Tessa had left them behind after she'd left the pool, and he wasn't sure what to do with them. He thought it be strange to walk into his room late at night holding a pair of girl's shoes and soaking wet, but as it turned out neither Jem nor Alec were awake, and Jace wasn't even there. Will had stuffed them into a drawer, changed and gone to sleep, his hair still wet from chlorine. He'd woken up with the first thought on his mind being '_Tessa's shoes_', and that's why he was here, standing outside her door.

He sighed and rested his forehead against the wood, squeezing his eyes shut. She liked _Jem,_ she didn't want _him_, and he was stupid to think she might. He really was a terrible person to know, pushing everyone away who tried to get close, anyone that might care about him he treated awfully, with the exception of Jem.

He banged his head against the door and swore quietly, before opening it and stepping in. There was a scream, and before Will could look up he was hit by a pillow. He swatted it aside and looked up, wishing he hadn't.

"OH MY GOD" He yelled, turning and pressing his face to the wall "WHY DON'T YOU TWO _EVER_ LOCK YOUR DOOR?!"

"Get out!" Jace roared, pulling the sheets around his waist and using his bare chest to block Will from seeing Clary. Will left quickly, not needing to be told twice. He wasn't lying when he said he'd needed therapy last time he'd seen them naked. It was truly traumatising.

"I could have told you not to go in there" a voice said down the hall, and Will looked up from the ground. Tessa stood in the corridor, her hair done in a braid down her back, a grey singlet on and large flannel pyjama pants, with bags under her eyes. She was pressing an ice-pack to her head, looking tired and a bit sick.

"Oh, really? Why didn't you then?" Will snapped, sounding angrier than he had meant to, watching as she flinched away from his words.

Tessa shrugged lazily, blinking heavily. "Are those my shoes?" She asked quietly. Will thought it was quite funny, actually, that less then twenty-four hours later she was the one feeling like hell with an ice-pack.

Will copied her and shrugged lazily, and she narrowed her eyes. "If you're here to make fun of me, please, just come back later" she said, looking at him with such distaste that it might have given him a complex if he knew he wasn't so good-looking.

"I'm not here to make fun of you" Will sighed, feeling his face relax and tiredness wash over him.

"Then give me my shoes and go" Tessa said, eyeing him bitterly, her eyes red like she might be or might have been crying. She held out her hand and he wondered how she'd gone this quickly from looking at him with love to absolute hate. It hurt his chest like he'd been punched in the ribs.

Will threw the shoes at her and stormed past, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jumper and hunching his shoulders. He turned suddenly, not sure why, maybe just to see if she'd watched him go, but she wasn't. She'd gone back into the bedroom she was staying in, and he cursed himself, resuming his previous state of walking down the hallway hunched over.

He stormed into his room as Alec was getting up, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. He dropped them quickly as Will stomped in, his eyes widening and as he looked up at him.

"Whats wrong?" He asked, his voice thick with sleep but still concerned.

Will shook his head rapidly, and paced back and forth in front of Alec's bed, his hand on his chin.

"I...I like-its nothing" he stammered, before rushing to the bathroom and slamming the door, leaning up against it and letting out a breath he didn't remember holding. He stood and walked towards the mirror, frowning at his reflection. Not only did he look tired and sad, he also looked like hell. His hair was stuck up in sticky angles, the chlorine making his hair clump together, accompanying the bags under his eyes and the pinkness of his nose and cheeks. He stripped down and jumped in the shower, overwhelmed with unnecessary joy to find there was hot water.

Screw Tessa, he didn't need her, not at all, not ever. _You might not need her,_ a voice in his head said quietly_, but you sure act like you do_. Maybe that was the answer, ignore the feelings and they'd go away? Pretend he didn't need her and just get on with life? _And sit by and watch as she dates Jem_? That sounded like torture.

There was a knocking on the door, or more of a pounding, and Will realised with a small jolt he'd been pouring all the shampoo onto his hand, looking down and seeing it all over the floor of the shower, dripping out of his hands. He rinsed his hand off and hopped out, wrapping a towel around his waist and giving himself a beehive because he wanted to make someone laugh, maybe that would get him in higher spirits. But unfortunately no one was laughing, because in the doorway stood Gabriel Lightwood, his arm now in a sling and sad expression on his face. Jem was gone, but Alec, Gabriel's cousin, sat frozen on his bed, just as surprised as Will was. It was a rare day when Gabriel would pay Will, or anyone that Will was friends, with a visit. In fact, Will would be intrigued to find out who Gabriel's friends were, or if he even had any. Will yanked the towel off his head and threw it down on the floor.

"I was wondering if we could talk privately?" Gabriel asked, his voice cracking. Will crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head to look at Alec.

"Oh you want_ me_ to leave?" Alec asked, pointing at himself and raising his eyebrows. Will nodded, and jerked his chin towards the door. Alec made an angry noise and picked up his covers, wrapping himself up in them and trudging to the door, waddling out with an unhappy expression.

Gabriel wasted no time getting to the point.

"Cecily and I broke up," he said slowly, watching Will carefully. Will snorted and raised his eyebrows quickly.

"Why am I not surprised" Will muttered to himself. He knew Cecily would see sense, would see she could do better when she was older, knew she would realise he was right-

"-because she' worried you might hurt me if we don't" he finished, and flinched, as if he expected Will to automatically punch him. Will stood still, expressionless. Cecily was so worried about her stupid boyfriend she'd broken up with him? So worried her older brother would kill him if she didn't? Cecily was very smart.

"And she's right, I will hurt you" Will agreed, nodding. He needed to give Cecily more credit.

"No, I don't think you understand" Gabriel said impatiently, running his hand through his curly hair.

"Whats there not to understand?" Will smiled. He was good at acting like an ass when he was in a bad mood, but of course, there really wasn't much acting going on.

"I'm not here to talk about you _or_ me" Gabriel seethed, his jaw jutting out slightly in frustration "I'm here to talk about Cecily".

"What about her? That she's finally acquired some brains?" Will inquired, feeling rather comical that he was arguing with Gabriel Lightwood in a towel about his younger sibling.

"You know, you might be her older brother, but I don't like you talking about her like she's stupi-"

"Why do you even _care_? _She_ broke up with _you_?" Will interrupted, curious.

"You are making this so difficult" Gabriel groaned, rocking back on his heels.

"Of course I am" Will said, like it was obvious "you're the bastard that went out with my little sister".

"Listen William, I don't care about what you call me or do to me alright? Don't think I do. But if you cared for Cecily you'd think about what she wanted" he said, and Will winced at the use of his full name.

"This is sounding very selfish Gabriel" Will pointed out "is this _whats best for Cecy_? Or do you just want a second chance with her so badly and you'd stoop_ that_ _low_?"

Gabriel's nostrils flared, and his green eyes widened, his good hand twitching by his side. He turned and opened the door, revealing a very blankety version of half-asleep Alec standing in the doorway. He turned and looked at Will like he was garbage, as he suspected a lot of people were going to look at him like for the next two years of high-school. And who knew? Maybe university would bring worse.

He left, and Alec walked back in, falling face down onto his bed and not moving, still wrapped up like a human sandwich roll. Jem bounced into the room a second later, a strange spring to his step.

"You'll never guess who I just saw in the hallway with a broken arm" he said, his eyes glinting.

"Gabriel Lightwood?" Will offered, taking a seat on his bed.

"Yes, how'd you know that?" Jem laughed, laying down on his bed and putting his arms behind his head and leaning back, grinning. Will shrugged.

"Whats got you so _up_?" Will asked, although he was afraid to hear the answer. Very, _very_ afraid.

"I'm going on another date with Tessa, the new girl" Jem explained, as if Will didn't know who Tessa was. Will felt his stomach do a backflip, and he forced a smile to his face.

"Slow down, James" Will advised, feeling his cheeks hurt from resistance "don't want to look too eager".

"Of course, you don't want to look not interested" Alec chimed in helpfully, his voice muffled, and Jem nodded, jerking his thumb over to the pile of blankets.

"Alec's got a point" Jem agreed, nodding.

"Thankyou" Alec said.

"So this girl,_ whatsherface_, you really like her?" Will asked, trying to sound nonchalant and succeeding. Jem shrugged, smiling.

"Then go for it" Will said, feeling like his heart was made of led and his stomach twisting. He fought back the urge to tell Jem exactly what had happened last night, and the day before, but then thought about how much of an awful person he'd be if he did that.

"I will" Jem promised, before closing his eyes and leaning back, relaxing into his pillows.

"_Great_" Will whispered, thinking about how _not great_ it was, and wondering if Tessa had said yes because she liked Jem, or to make him mad. He didn't like it either way.

**Chapter ten everybody, let me know what you thought by reviewing! If you didn't like it, let me know so I can try and fix whatever it is. Thankyou for reading, have a nice day :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed, it makes my day. This chapter is just ships and ships and shipity ship ships. **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Isabelle lay very still, remembering what had happened. Pieces of it came to her in brief flashes; a soft hand on her waist, a dorky laugh, the burn of alcohol on her throat.

Simon sighed in his sleep, rolling over to hold her a bit closer. _He is very warm_, Isabelle noticed. Without a second thought she slid out of Simon's bed, slipping on her clothes and reaching for the doorhandle. She had to wear her dress from last night, and prayed that no one was in the hallway. She turned to look at Simon, covered in blankets, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open slightly, his arms still in the position they'd been when she was laying in them. She quickly ran over and pressed a kiss to his forehead, before darting out the door, hopefully not being seen by anyone.

**###**

Tessa was humiliated. There was no other word to describe how she felt, and she wasn't looking for another word, she knew she'd embarrassed herself. Pulling Will into the pool, kissing him, being drunk around him. She was almost sure that she could never show her face to him again after what happened in the hall that morning, her being so rude and all.

She'd slept in Isabelle's bed that night, surrounded by all the others who had been kicked out of their rooms last night for other couples. Gabriel Lightwood, Jordan Kyle and Magnus Bane were just a few of the people camping out on the floor between the beds, some sleeping on blankets and others with their faces pressed up against the carpet. Jordan had luckily been able to sleep in Maia's single bed, barely fitting with his head down where her feet were and vice versa. Tessa had gotten in before anyone had claimed Isabelle's bed, who was missing from her room, leaving her bed unoccupied.

Breakfast wasn't for another half an hour, and Tessa now knew what it was like to have a hangover. It was like a migraine, but way, way, _way_ worse. She could feel her heartbeat strongly in her temples, pulsing painfully and bright lights or loud noises making her flinch. Not to mention her stomach was rolling, and whenever she moved she thought she might throw up, which thankfully she hadn't yet, because she hadn't had too much to drink, just enough to make her drunk, apparently.

She wanted both a hot water bottle and an ice pack at the same time, but not having the first, she settled for the latter. She was sitting cross legged on Isabelle's bed, listening to the sound of Jordan snoring. Most of the other people had cleared out, leaving their makeshift beds on the floor and going back to their rooms. Tessa had just been going to check if her room was empty when she'd run into Will, standing with his head against her door, his eyes closed, holding her shoes in his hand. She'd been rude, but she was guessing that he'd only come to make fun of the way she'd acted last night, and personally, she didn't really blame him. She'd acted like an idiot.

Then Jem had come, almost immediately after, and she'd had to hide the sad expression on her face and replace it with a smile. He'd asked her on another date very politely, beaming when she'd excepted, kissing her on the cheek and leaving.

She was very confused, making her head hurt more than it already was, so she got up and prayed that Clary and Jace were gone, or at least Jace. She'd barely had time to grab pyjamas last night before they kicked her out (Clary nicely, Jace not so nicely) and was actually quite sick of having to hang out with Isabelle Lightwood and her dormmates every time they wanted to be alone.

Maybe _she_ wanted to be alone sometimes? Had they ever thought of _that_? Of course, Clary _had_ had her own room for two years, and probably wasn't used to sharing it.

She knocked and there was no answer. Tessa had learned to knock twice since her first day, and when she did an angry Jace yelled "go away Will, I'll do the assignment later". Tessa stomach dropped at the use of Will's name, and she sagged against the door, her index and middle fingers pressed to her temples.

"Its Tessa. Let me in" Tessa yelled, her voice breaking. She felt like she was about to be sick.

The door opened, and Clary was there, wearing pyjama shorts and Jace's sweatshirt, while Jace sat on the bed, shirtless, wearing sweatpants and a beanie with the monopoly board game sitting in front of him.

"Can we help you?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow. He was holding the dice in his hand, supposedly about to have his go.

"It is_ my_ room too" Tessa said hotly, before running into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her, regretting everything she'd ever eaten.

**###**

"Charlotte," Henry said suddenly, breaking her out of her concentration. She'd been doing homework, sitting at one of the large wooden tables in the library, writing down just exactly what she thought the author meant when they'd said '_he wore a blue shirt'_.

She raised her head to look up at him, finding comfort in the fact he had been fiddling with pipe cleaners and a straw. But he'd stopped now, his hands very still on the table, his eyes wide as he looked at her. His eyes were very pretty, she'd always thought. Green around the outside and light brown on the outside. She'd had a lot of fun dancing with him last night, but wished that he would like her like she liked him. She'd liked- who was she kidding? She'd_ loved_ him since her first year of high school, and had gradually tried to get closer to him, only to end up being looked at like a friend. It wasn't like she'd been too obvious though, she hadn't ever_ told_ him she liked him, and he certainly wasn't the type of person to pick up on signals like that.

"Yes?" She said, blinking and putting down her pencil. He gulped, one of his hands on his neck, his cheeks red underneath the spray of freckles.

"Um, I've been meaning to talk to you about something for awhile now..." he trailed off, his ears turning pink, looking down at his hands on the table. He was trying not to smile, she could tell.

"Spit it out, Henry" she laughed, smiling warmly at him.

"Well its just, I-I...I like you very much" he managed, grasping for words. He was looking her directly in the eyes, and she frowned.

"What_ are_ you talking about?" She asked, making a face.

"I like you very much" Henry said again, his voice shaky "and not just like friends".

Charlotte's heart skipped a beat, and her eyes widened. _Was he saying what she thought he was_?

"And I understand how I might've just ruined what we have, but I couldn't _not_ say it" Henry rambled, not seeming to notice the smile creeping up Charlotte's face "and you probably just think of me as a friend I know, why would you like me anywa-".

"Henry," Charlotte said "shut up".

"Okay" Henry mumbled quickly, looking down at his hands again.

"Are you joking around with me?" Charlotte asked seriously, looking at him without blinking. He raised his head to meet her stare, and shook his head. Charlotte grinned.

"Good" she beamed.

"Good?" Henry asked, taken aback, his expression confused.

"Yes. Good" Charlotte laughed, reaching across the table and taking his large hand in both of hers, running her thumb across his knuckle "because I feel the exact same way".

**###**

Gideon hoped he didn't have sweaty hands.

He was walking to a coffee shop with Sophie, happy to be outside campus, glad sundays were the days they were allowed out. Sophie's hands were very soft, and he hoped again that his weren't sweaty. _Would she say something if they were? Or would she keep walking all the while having to hold hands with some damp-handed weirdo_? Gideon wasn't sure. It was getting cold, and he was wearing a jacket over a jumper, still feeling the cold on his fingers and face. Sophie had had the common sense to bring a scarf, while he was freezing.

"Your nose is pink" Sophie pointed out, interrupting Gideon's internal argument with himself.

"Really?" Gideon asked, his hand automatically jumping to his nose. It was cold to the touch, and he was sure his cheeks were the same shade.

"Yes, its adorable" she laughed, and he grinned down at her. When most people saw her, they would only see the scar on her face. But when he saw her, he saw the elegant shape to her brown eyes, or the pinkness of her lips. He knew he saw the real Sophie underneath the scar, even if he didn't know how she'd gotten it.

"Adorable, huh?" Gideon said, turning a corner on the street "I can live with that".

They were there then, standing outside the tiny little hole-in-the-wall coffee place Gideon had gone to with Gabriel when they'd both been sent to boarding school. They had ranted about school, and their Father, and homework, and Will Herondale. Now it was time to take Sophie here, because he thought it was something she might enjoy.

He stepped into the shop, a little bell dinging on the door as he did so, and he held it opened for Sophie, who flushed ever so slightly. They ordered, and climbed up the stairs to where they kept a few books and cramped tables and chairs. Gideon sat down, his knees lifting the table off the ground, making Sophie giggle. He shifted uncomfortably, stretching his legs out so they didn't bump the table, but sliding down low in his seat, his chin level with the table.

The guy from downstairs came and put their drinks on the table, offering a smile to Sophie. He had a pen behind his ear, which he pulled out along with a notepad and looked at them both "anything else I can get you?" Gideon sat up quickly, making the table jump in the air. Sophie and the guy reached out and grabbed their coffees, but the sugar and the napkin dispenser weren't so lucky, tipping to the ground. Gideon made a dive for them, and fell off his chair, catching them both with his back to the ground and his legs still resting on his tiny chair.

Sophie burst out laughing, and the coffee guy bent down to help Gideon up. "Don't worry" he reassured him, handing Gideon his coffee "you're not the only bloke who's come in here and been too tall for the tables". He left, and Gideon sat back down, turning the chair around so the back faced Sophie. He leaning his arms against the back and put his chin on his forearm, looking at Sophie as she wiped tears from her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"Oh, that was amazing" she sighed, picking up her drink and taking a sip.

Gideon smiled ruefully, drinking his own coffee slowly. "I'm just_ full_ of amazing things" Gideon said, grinning "you think this is bad? You should see me at kindergartener tables, _then_ you'd laugh".

**###**

Gabriel sat on a bench, fiddling with a loose string on his sweatshirt, desperately wanting to scratch an itch on the inside of his cast, but he didn't have a way to reach it. It had been a hectic twenty four hours for him. First Will Herondale had broken his arm, and he'd had to go to the hospital and get it re-broken so it was straight, then fitted with a cast, which had hurt. He'd been given morphine, but only a small amount, which he'd come off of very quickly. When he'd gotten back, Cecily had been sitting outside his door with her dress still on, her mask laying beside her on the ground. She'd looked up at him with sad eyes, and told him they needed to break up, because she didn't want him getting hurt anymore. He'd said he didn't care, but she'd insisted, saying that _she_ cared, and couldn't see him get hurt again. He'd gone to Will the next day, telling him they should think about whats best for Cecily, and what would make her happy. Will had been nothing but rude and difficult, which wouldn't have surprised Gabriel on a normal day, but when they were talking about Cecily he thought Will would have cared a little bit more.

He crossed his legs in front of him, and sighed. He'd never really bothered to make friends with anyone, always seeing them as slightly inferior to himself, so he'd just been with Gideon. But lately Gideon hadn't been talking to him as much, or paying him any attention. So when Cecily popped up into his life, all full of light and fun-loving, he'd instantly fallen for her, only to find out she was a Herondale, and wanting her anyway. Cecily was exactly what he had needed, and now that she was gone he realised he didn't really _have_ anyone else.

Cecily Herondale was all he had, and he had to let her go.

**And there we have it, chapter eleven. I'll include some Malec next chapter if I can get 5+ reviews, yeah? If you didn't like it, please, let me know through reviews or PM, so I can try and fix whatever it is you didn't think was good. Thankyou so much for reading! Have a good day :) **


	12. Chapter 12

**THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED! **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

It was Friday, and Cecily always trained on Fridays. She swam thirty laps of the pool, wishing she could get the image of Gabriel out of her mind. Exercise usually helped her forget, but not today. She could still see him perfectly, standing with his arm in a cast and the most distraught look on his face. Damn Will for being such a dick, _who broke their little sister's boyfriend's arm anyway_?

She stopped swimming, resting her hands on the ledge of the pool, thinking she didn't have it in her to train today, or really do _anything_. She'd come straight here after an aggravating two periods of math, changing as quickly as she could and jumping in, only to find she wasn't really full of energy, or anger, but more of regret. Regret was a strange emotion to Cecily. She didn't feel it often.

She pulled herself out of the pool, immediately feeling her skin tighten with goosebumps. It was getting cold lately, and the water certainly wasn't warm, but it was a nicer temperature than the air. She shuffled to the bathroom, going straight into the showers. She never understood how girls could come in here and be naked. She had always come in here and showered with a swimsuit on.

She peeled off the cap from her head and put her goggles around her neck like a necklace and turned the water on. This was one of the only places in the school where there was constant hot water, but there were no stall doors or curtains, so no one ever really used these showers. She let the hot water roll over her back, pushing her hair away from her face with still numb fingers.

She got out, dried, got dressed and left, running into Gideon Lightwood, Gabriel's brother. He was one of the many people on Cecily's list to avoid, along with Will, her English teacher and Gabriel himself.

He had obviously just been swimming, his hair wet and sticking to his forehead, his shirt was damp from the small drops of water that rolled down his neck, and at the sight of her his eyebrows tilted down and he frowned.

"Hey, Cecily" he said, and she stood frozen, looking up into his eyes. Gideon's weren't nearly as green as Gabriel's, more grey than anything else really. She stood a bit taller and stuck out her chin.

"Hello" she replied, barely making his chin in height. Just seeing the slightly familiar shape of Gideon's nose made Cecily's chest ache.

They stood there, Gideon knocking the sides of fists together, and Cecily chewing on her lower lip. Unspoken words hung in the air between them, and to Cecily's horror and pleasure, Gideon was the one to break the silence.

"He misses you, you know" he mumbled, his hands on his neck, water dripping onto his cheeks from his hair.

Cecily nodded, a sharp pain shooting across her stomach.

"I miss him too" she admitted, her eyes pricking. She felt heat rush to her nose, and she knew of all the people to cry in front of, Gideon Lightwood was the one of the worst. He was very low key, and she knew she'd just make it more uncomfortable and he'd probably tell Gabriel, too.

But there were only so many things Cecily could do. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks, and she wiped them away hastily, sniffing.

"Oh, Christ, I'm so sorry" Gideon rushed, putting his hands on her shoulders in an attempt of condolence, she suspected "I didn't mean to make you cry".

Cecily shook her head, and looked up him, her vision blurry. She hated crying, and she didn't like people seeing her when she did. She realised what she wanted at this moment was a hug from her big brother, to bury her head in his chest while he promised it'd all be okay, but she then she remembered it was all his fault, _he_ was the reason she was crying right now.

She wiped the tears away and pushed past Gideon, mad he'd make her sad all over again. He stood staring after her, and she could feel his gaze on her back as she left.

**###**

Will sat on a bench behind the fountain in the plaza of the school. Jem was with him, merrily recounting the way his science teacher had slipped over in the lab and knocked over an entire row of test tubes and beakers and they'd been given a free period.

Will nodded along, his hands behind his head, blinking heavily with exhaustion. It had been a month, to the day, since he'd last talked to Tessa. Cecily wasn't talking to him either, but of course deep down, he didn't blame her.

It was getting extremely cold, and it was a rare day when it wasn't bucketing down with rain. Will and Jem had taken advantage of the 'nice' weather and sat outside, talking about nothing and everything.

"_By the pricking of my thumbs_" Jem whispered, his eyes widening as Tatiana skipped towards them, also spending her afternoon taking whatever watery sunlight had filtered through the clouds.

"_Something wicked this way comes_" Will finished, scowling at his feet. Tatiana didn't stop at them (thank god), but made sure to bump Will's arm off the rest with her hips as she sauntered by, and he had the right mind to grab her by her skirt and throw her in the fountain, but decided against it when he saw the look on Jem's face.

"So, what did you do today?" He asked politely, playing with they adjusting strings on his hoodie, a small smile on his face. It was moments like this when Will remembered Jem's sickness. He had something doctors couldn't understand yet, so they'd put him on a drug that made his hair and eyes go silver. It made him feel better, but it wasn't a cure, it was a supplement for when they found the proper medicine Jem needed, but so far they hadn't discovered it, and Jem was slowly getting worse...

"Was your day_ that_ bad then?" Jem chuckled, slipping his foot out of his shoe and back in again. Jem was a bit of a nervous fidgeter, Will had noticed.

"No, I was just...thinking about something" Will said quietly, frowning.

"Oh. And that was?"

"How I need that wardrobe back" Will said. It was only partially a lie. Yes, in that moment he'd been thinking about his best friend's illness, but the idea of the wardrobe was still in the back of his mind. Since Clary had won it back, she'd returned his books to him. He had no place to put them, shoving them behind furniture and inside Alec's shirts and pillowcases when he was out, stacking them on his already cluttered nightstand and beside his bed.

"Yes. Speaking of which, I found another _Roald Dahl_ book in my trousers again this morning" Jem informed him, patting his own legs.

"Sorry" Will apologised, knowing it didn't sound very heartfelt.

"It's fine" Jem brushed off. "But how are you going to win it back if the game is for girls?"

"I have an idea" Will said, shrugging "but it involves losing half my ego".

"You'll still have a normal sized one when you go through with it, though" Jem pointed out cheerfully.

Will smiled weakly, and sighed. Maybe he stood to lose more than just his ego.

**###**

Cecily was laying on her bunk on her phone, going through her old messages with people. She hadn't read her and Gabriel's on purpose, having no interest in hurting herself all over again.

She thought she was lucky being in a room with a bunk bed, claiming the top bunk as soon as she'd laid her eyes on it.

There was a knock at the door, and her dormmate went to answer it, flushing at the sight of Will and Jem in the doorway. Cecily rolled her eyes. She was absolutely sick of girls telling her how handsome her Will was, asking about him, wondering what he was like. She didn't see what was so special, but then again he _was_ her brother. Jem on the other hand, was very good looking in her eyes, and seeing both of them in their doorway probably was enough to make any one of the girls in her room faint. Except her.

Will's eyes were bright with some emotion Cecily couldn't place, and Jem's cheeks were pink from all the stares from the girls in her room.

"Cecily" Will said, clearing his throat "can I talk to you for a moment?"

She didn't reply, but jumped over the railing of her bed and followed him outside. She couldn't tell if he wasn't noticing the girls in her dorm staring at him or if he just chose to ignore it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and pursed her lips, tapping her fingers against her arm. Will leaned across her to shut the door, and as soon as he had a large amount of squeals erupted from inside, and Jem laughed to himself.

"You brought me out here William" she said icily, and his resulting look was like daggers "so talk to me".

"I shouldn't have broken your boyfriends arm" Will said, although it sounded forced. He muttered something under his breath that sounded like _the stupid prick_,and Jem elbowed him in the ribs. Cecily raised her eyebrows, not buying it.

"Yes, you shouldn't have" Cecily said. "But he's not my boyfriend now" she added, a bit painfully.

"Well, I'm here to say I'd like that to change" Will said, even if he sounded like he was choking. He coughed, then sniffed, and straightened his back, looking her in the eyes. "What I'm saying, is, you should go out with him again, and I won't lay a finger on him" Will said.

Cecily threw her arms around him, hugging him around the middle, smiling.

"Oh, do you really mean it Will?" She asked, overjoyed, then stopped dead and pulled away, narrowing her eyes "what's in it for you?"

"A favour" Will smiled, his eyes glinting mischievously. Cecily knew that look, it was the look he'd gotten before he'd pushed her in a duckpond, or before that time when he took her out to tip a cow in the middle of the night.

"So if I do you a favour you solemnly swear not to hurt Gabriel Lightwood?" Cecily asked, curiously. It must have been a big favour, because Will hated Gabriel with a passion.

"Yes. I swear" Will promised, his jaw set and his eyes fixed on a point down the hall.

"Okay, what's the favour?"

Will opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out, only a high pitched squeak, and he made a face. Jem stepped forward, and pushed Will back a bit, his hand on his chest.

"What Will's trying so hard to say, is that he needs you to go to one of Isabelle Lightwood's card games and win him the wardrobe space in Clary Fray's room" Jem explained, as if he was pitching an idea to a large company.

"What's to say I won't lose?" She asked, seeing many flaws in the plan. Besides the things that could go wrong, Cecily thought she was getting quite a bargain from this deal.

"I've seen you play cards Cecy" Will said, his voice working again, but still quite squeaky compared to its normal deep pitch "you cannot lose".

Cecily grinned at her older brother. "Okay. I'm in".

**###**

Simon lay face down on his bed, his arms and legs spread in starfish formation, making breathing difficult. Since the night of homecoming, he couldn't stop thinking about his stupid dream. It had been so incredibly vivid, but of course, he'd been drunk while he'd had it, when he'd never been drunk before, so he guessed that it was just a side effect. Like when pregnant ladies had vivid dreams, he supposed, but then brushed the thought aside, because he was not pregnant, and he hadn't been that drunk.

He knew it couldn't have been real though, Isabelle Lightwood would never talk to him in a million years, let alone sleep with him. He was no one to her. In all honesty, he'd never really tried to make any kind of conversation with her, knowing she was out of his league. He'd admired her from a distance as most other guys did, and that was it. It was strange that he'd thought about a dream so much, but it had been absolutely amazing. He'd seen her in the hallways over the past month, and she'd just stared at him, her dark eyes wide with what looked like fear. He'd felt self conscious for the rest of the day afterwards.

"Simon, buddy, I'm worried about you" Clary said, breaking him out of his thoughts. He raised his head, straining his neck, to look at his best friend. He'd had a crush on her for as long as he'd known her, and when Jace had popped up onto the scene he'd been about ready to lock himself in his bathroom and never come out again. Lately though, since that night at homecoming, his feelings had become less prominent, and be doubted if he even loved her like that anymore.

That night he'd danced with Isabelle very briefly, and by briefly he meant about thirty seconds. _The best thirty seconds of his life_.

"Me? No, no, I'm fine" Simon mumbled, grabbing his glasses from his nightstand and pushing them up his nose, flipping over so he lay on his back.

"If you say so" she sighed, flipping open a comic book.

She looked up as Gabriel moaned in pain.

"Why don't you lot ever tell me when I roll onto my arm?" He asked, running his good hand through his curly, mussed up from sleep, hair. Gabriel often rolled into his side, squashing his bad arm under himself and waking up in immense pain, or what Simon imagined what would be immense pain. He was getting his cast of tomorrow though, so it couldn't have hurt that bad.

"Sorry dude" Jordan said "I just keep forgetting to tell myself to check up on you". If anyone else had said that, they would have been being sarcastic, but not Jordan. He'd made it his personal mission to help Gabriel Lightwood out of his sour mood, which was proving harder then Jordan had thought if was going to be.

"You don't need to check up on me, just... I don't know,_ shake me_ every now and then" Gabriel muttered, holding his casted arm to his chest.

"I can do that" Jordan nodded, looking sagely at Gabriel. Gabriel scowled, as he so often did, and looked down at his feet. Clary huffed, and Simon thought Gabriel was being an ungrateful little idiot.

**###**

"Hello. That shirt brings out your eyes".

Alec smiled at his feet, both loving and hating the way Magnus greeted him. They'd agreed to meet in the cafeteria at dinner, which was exactly what they had done. Alec wasn't sure when he was going to tell everyone that he was gay. He promised himself he'd do it soon, but he'd been saying soon for over a year.

"Nice to see you too, Magnus" Alec looked up from his dinner (leak soup) and straight into Magnus' face. He was looking fairly normal today, his hair not gelled and his clothes a little less eccentric. He'd chosen a button up yellow shirt and galaxy print pants (where did he _get_ those?) which was normal as Magnus got, but hey, you couldn't have everything.

"You should seriously consider buying more blue. It looks good on you" Magnus said, then smiled a very beautiful smile "that rhymed".

Alec had chosen this particular shirt for no other reason than it was clean, and not because it made him look nice, which was a thought he really didn't have time for.

"So, you said you wanted to talk to me?" Alec asked, stirring his spoon fast enough to make a whirlpool in his soup.

"Yes. I want to stop sneaking around" Magnus said bluntly. Alec dropped his spoon into his food.

"W-what?" He spluttered, hitting himself on the chest.

Magnus was steely calm. "It's not like you can keep this kind of thing a secret forever" he pointed out, his eyes on Alec.

"I can damn well try" Alec said, picking his spoon out of his food and coughing. Him and Magnus ducked as a plate went flying, and a teacher screamed at the person who'd thrown it.

"Alexander" Magnus said sharply, his strangely yellow eyes flashing "you know I'm right".

Alec nodded. He _was_ right, but that didn't mean he wanted to tell someone. Isabelle knew, and of course, Magnus, but that was the extent. He wasn't ready to come out of the closet, not until he was out of high school at least.

"Not until I've left school" he said in a low voice to Magnus, leaning across the table. Magnus smiled, and ran his fingertip along the edge of his glass of water, making a deep ringing noise.

"Are you afraid of judgement, Alexander?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. For someone in highschool, Alec thought, he was smart beyond his years, his eyes making it look like he'd seen a million things and experienced unimaginable pain.

"Stop calling me Alexander" Alec said, before muttering "_my mom calls me Alexander_".

"Maybe I should meet your Mother, then" Magnus suggested, taking a sip of his water, his pinky raised. Alec sighed, and places his hands on the table, wishing he could reach across and lay it on Magnus'.

"You and me both know how that would go down" Alec said sadly, looking Manus in the eyes.

"Yes, but eventually...?"

Alec opened his mouth to reply, when Maia and someone she was holding hands with say down next to them, oblivious to that fact that they wanted to be alone.

"Hey Alec" the guy said, raising his hand and offering a warm smile. Alec frowned, he didn't remember introducing himself to this guy.

"Oh, um, I'm in a dorm with Magnus" he said, jerking his thumb towards Magnus, who smiled, but his eyes looked like they were trying to burn holes in the guy's face. There was an uncomfortable silence, before he extended his arm across the table towards Alec.

"Jordan Kyle" he said, grinning. He was very good looking, with hazel eyes and tanned skin.

"_Oh my god_" Magnus said suddenly, his hand on Jordan's shoulder, his expression completely serious "Don't freak out, okay? But, and this may come as a shock to you..._you have two first names_".

Maia burst out laughing, and Jordan flushed, smiling shyly at his food in front of him.

"I don't know why she's laughing" Magnus said to Alec, like it was the most peculiar thing "it might be fatal".

Alec let himself laugh, liking the feeling immensely. Magnus' eyes crinkled up at the edges with a smile at Alec. With a sudden rush of courage, Alec reached under the table and took Magnus' hand, who looked surprised for only a moment, before relaxing.

**###**

Tessa didn't go to dinner that night.

She didn't exactly feel like talking to anyone, or more specifically, Jem. She'd gone on the date with him, which had actually been surprisingly amazing, because Jem was very funny, and also nice to look at.

But, after the date, which had been going to get lunch, nothing else really happened. He tried to make conversation with her politely, talking about weather and classes. She really wanted to see him again, but at the same time, those thoughts were poisoned by the idea of Will.

Will, Will, Will, Will, Will, Will, _Will_. It was aggravating how much she thought about him. She wished there was a way she could get rid of him from her mind, or find a way to un-like him. But there wasn't, and she had to see him everyday for classes, and bump into him awkwardly in the hallways, when all she wanted to do was stop and talk with him, maybe even get to know him better.

_Shut up, Tessa._

**If you liked it, please feel free to review. If you didn't, let me know why so I can try and fix it. Huge thanks to my twin sister, who points out when my writing is shit, or when its not so shit. _Thankyou_ for reading! Have a good day/night wherever you are :) **


	13. Chapter 13

** Thanks to you guys that review, you're all awesome. This chapter will be less boring than the last two I swear **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Will woke on the saturday morning with the idea he was going to ask Cecily how the game went, but with a quick look at the clock hanging on his wall he groaned and rolled over. It was six in the morning, and he was awake. He could barely get up at eight on a weekday, but to wake up early on a_ saturday_? What kind of mockery of God was that? The sun hadn't even come up yet, and he was freezing. He'd managed to kick his blankets off himself, so they were all bunched up around his ankles. He sighed, and wished he'd remind himself to put on a shirt when he went to bed at night, but old habits died hard. As he reached down to grab his blankets, he caught sight of his tattoo. He felt stupid for getting it now, but when it was offered it to him he'd been sixteen and stupid. His Dad was constantly trying to win him over, to get them to bond or something. Will had never really been like his father, nor had he tried to be, so in a desperate attempt to please Will, his Dad had let him get a tattoo. His tattoo was the symbol for _equilibrium_, which looked sort of like a messed up z with two dots on either side of it, and meant balanced forces.

He shook his head and frowned. He now saw the stupidity of it, and felt embarrassed for himself every time he looked at it.

Everyone around him was asleep, even Jem, who was usually up before everyone else. He was the guy who made sure no one slept in too late, or missed breakfast. Jem was like the den-mother of dormroom 7B. Will stood, determined to go back to sleep with a shirt on, and maybe several layers of coats, instead of just grey sweatpants. He felt goosebumps rise on his arms, and shivered, running his hands over them in an attempt to warm himself up. He looked out the window, wanting to see if the sun was rising or if he could still see stars, but stopping dead when Tessa rolled out of bed on the other side of the gap. She wore a big grey T-Shirt, and nothing else that he could see, showing off long slim legs. Will gulped. Her hair was pulled up in a poorly done bun, and she reached behind her sleepily and pulled the hair tie from it, and it tumbled down her shoulders. She walked, or more stumbled to the bathroom, having to try a few times to reach the doorknob, twisting it and falling in.

He felt himself blush down to his chest, his face hot. He was no longer cold at least, but felt a bit like a pervert. _She could have closed her blinds though_, he thought, _right_? Yes, that was a good excuse. He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes, breathing heavily. _Jesus Will_, he scolded himself, _control yourself for christ's sake_. He opened his eyes to Tessa, who was staring back at him curiously, her eyes wide from across the gap. For a good ten seconds they shared the same look of confusion. It was early in the morning, they were both half asleep and it was freezing. Then Tessa seemed to remember herself, and flushed deeply, diving under her blankets and peering over the backboard of her bed at him, only her eyes showing. He grinned a very sleepy grin, probably looking like he was on drugs, he suspected. He waved, and she ducked back down onto her bed, and out of sight. He shrugged, and bent down to pick up a blue sweater off the ground that was probably Alec's.

As he pulled it over his chest he caught sight of her still looking, before she ducked back down again. He fell onto his bed, suddenly too warm, although that seemed almost impossible because he was sure it was in the minuses, and he let out a large breath. _Dating Jem, he _remineded himself, his finger in the air as he did so. But if he was being honest, he didn't think he actually cared.

He wasn't completely sure when he fell asleep, but the sun had started to come up, and it brought clouds with it, rain pouring down and down, the soft patters making his dreamless sleep peaceful.

**###**

Will tried to think of an excuse to go over to Tessa and Clary's room for the good part of an hour, all while Jace left, taking Clary somewhere, Jem went to take a walk and Alec slept on, snoring softly, hugging his pillow to his chest and drooling slightly. _Think Will, think_. He could say he'd wanted to see if Jace was there, or that he thought he'd left a book behind? No, those were lame excuses. He could tell her the truth, that he just really wanted to see her and talk to her, but that also sounded stupid even to himself. _Since when did I get so desperate?_ He thought to himself, putting his head in his hands. Girls came to _him_, not the other way around. He heard Jem's voice in his head, as he sometimes did when he needed an opinion and no one was around to give it. _"Things change, and you're not as good-looking as you think you are_". Jem had said that to him once when a girl had rejected him. Will had felt quite gutted that day, considering that he'd never been turned down before, and didn't know the feeling.

"Ah, fuck it" Will muttered, getting up and slipping on his shoes, as Alec rolled onto the floor. Alec was probably the most restless sleeper Will had ever known, and not a night went by that he didn't find Alec on the floor, or in one of the extreme cases, in the hallway. Will didn't stay long enough to find out if Alec woke up after his tumble, and left the room, his stomach rolling. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to do when he got there, but he knew he needed to. He passed by several dorm rooms, including Gideon Lightwood's, which contained a yelling kid with white blond hair, yelling at a bashful looking Henry Branwell, who's red hair happened to be singed and the side of the blond kid's T-Shirt burnt.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he crossed the bridge between the blocks, and turned directly left, going down the blank white hallway with blue carpet until he'd come to the very last room, 7G. Tessa and Clary's room was smaller than all the other rooms, he didn't know why, he'd always thought maybe less girls went to the school than boys, but nothing had ever proved his theory correct or incorrect, so he'd never asked. He knocked, and felt his stomach drop as he did so, and held his breath as he heard footsteps coming towards the door, then it opened, and Tessa stood before him. She looked like she'd just woken up, but dressed, fortunately and unfortunately for Will, with droopy eyelids and messy hair, her cheeks flushed and her mouth hanging open slightly. She rubbed her eyes and looked up, her gaze going over his jeans to his grey sweater and finally resting on his face, where her eyes stopped. Without a pause, she tried to slam the door shut, but Will stuck his foot between the gap before it was closed, wincing as she attempted still, to close the door.

"I'm here to get a book" he explained through the small crack, where he could see her determined face as she tried to kick his foot out from its wedged in position between the door. "Seriously Tessa, come _on_" Will scoffed, as she finally gave up and moved aside, her cheeks and nose a cute shade of pink, and her face very awake. The room was a bit of a mess; Tessa's bed covered in papers and text books, her computer sitting on top of a basket of what looked like fresh laundry, while Clary's bed had what looked like the game Parcheesi spread out on it, the pieces scattered.

"I was, uh, studying" Tessa mumbled, fiddling with her hair, tucking it behind her ear "I doubt you'll be able to find it in the mess". Will shrugged, and gave her a grin, which she didn't return, and got down on his hands and knees and pretended to look for a book.

She rushed sweeping all the papers on her bed up, stacking them and shoving them in a folder she kept on her nightstand, and closing her laptop hastily.

"What book are you actually looking for, William?" Tessa asked, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

"Well," Will said, holding up a bra between his hands, and looking up at her "I wasn't looking for _this_". Tessa turned a deeper shade of red and snatched it out of his hands, throwing it in a drawer angrily.

"You idiotic basta-"

"Don't worry about it Tessa" Will laughed, looking up at her "I have a little sister, and I had a big sister, bra's don't really faze me much anymore". What he was saying was completely true, actually, because before he'd gone to boarding school he'd found them everywhere. At first it had been almost embarrassing, but after a few years or so he was used to finding them in his washing or hanging in the bathroom. Hell, he'd even had to take Cecily bra shopping once.

"Have you made it your personal mission to make me feel completely humiliated everytime you see me, Will?" Tessa asked, her eyebrows raised, still standing over him awkwardly as he crawled around on the floor like an idiot.

"Pretty much" he shrugged, getting up and opening the wardrobe, only to find it overflowing with boardgames._ What a waste of space_.

"And what do you mean you _had_ a big sister?" She asked sharply, and Will flinched, his heart twisting.

He turned on his heel to look at her angry expression, and put his hands on his neck. "I had an older sister, Ella, who died a few years ago" Will explained, and Tessa's face dropped, her grey eyes widening and her lips parting to form an 'o' shape.

"Oh my god, Will, I'm so sorry-" She apologised, taking a step forward, her hand outstretched as if to touch him, but he pulled back.

"No. Its-its fine. Lets just talk about something else, please" Will frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. Tessa put her hand on his arm, and he felt a shock that went to his toes go through him.

"What book are you looking for?" Tessa asked gently, looking up at his face. He felt his cheeks go warm, and he smiled shyly at his feet against his will.

"I'm not really looking for a book _per-say._." He admitted, and she raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on her mouth.

"Then why _are_ you here?" She asked, standing close enough to him that he could see where her eyes turned blue around the edges.

"I'm here because...I'm here_ because" _he grasped for words, before reaching behind him and pulling out a random box, which happened to be _Trivial Pursuit "_because I'm bored and its raining and no one wanted to play with me". He realised how lame he sounded, and how cliché it probably was that he'd come over to play a goddamn board game with her on a rainy day, but he forced confidence into his voice and smiled at her.

"Okaaaaaaay...?" Tessa said, narrowing her eyes, before taking the box from his hands "I guess I could use a break from studying".

Will grinned.

**###**

Simon wasn't sure whether or not Clary was still going to be in her room or not, but he walked towards the girls' dorms anyway, needing to tell someone about his dreams. Dreams didn't usually mean anything to him, but Clary had been asking him for a month now what was wrong, and he was ready to tell her. He prayed that she wasn't with Jace, or out with Jace, or talking to Jace on the phone, or drawing him (which was the particularly worst one of the four). But, sadly, before he could reach her room, a hand reached out as if from nowhere and grabbed Simon by the neck of his shirt, and yanked him into the room.

"Ow" Simon complained, rubbing his neck where the collar had dug into it "was that really necessary?"

"Yes" a girl's voice said, and he looked down at Isabelle Lightwood, her hands on her hips and her eyes blazing. He gulped and took a large step away from her.

"Look, if this's about my dream...?" Simon said, his hands raised in front of him, noticing there were no other girls in the room. _Great_, he thought,_ no witnesses_. Somehow she must have found out that he'd had a dirty dream about her, and she was probably ready to kill him for being a weirdo. He'd try to defend himself he guessed, but there wasn't much he could do against Isabelle. He nervously pushed his glasses up his nose and looked at her warily.

"_What_?" She asked, making a face "no, this isn't about your stupid dreams. I wanted to make sure you hadn't told anyone what happened between us".

Simon raised an eyebrow, and put his hands by his sides. "We danced for like, not even a minute Isabelle" he said confusedly.

"Danced?" Isabelle laughed, a bit hysterically, and suddenly became very serious "we did more than dance". Simon's jaw dropped, and he looked at her like she'd just grown a new head, probably looking quite comical.

"We did?" He asked incrediously, short of breath "I thought I dreamt that".

"No, you didn't _dream_ it" Isabelle said, rolling her eyes "anyway, that doesn't matter. You haven't told anyone have you? Well, I guess you haven't since you thought it was a dream". Isabelle looked up out of the corner of her eyes and put her finger on her lip, before shrugging and smiling brightly at him.

"I guess you can go now" she said cheerfully, grabbing his shoulders and turning him around, as he stuttered and spluttered. She shoved him out the door and into the hallway, making him stumble and crash against the wall. She closed the door, and he looked at it with an expression of utter confusion. The door opened again, and Isabelle stuck her head out "oh and don't tell anyone" she added, before closing it again.

Simon slumped against the wall, his brain on overdrive. It had all happened; he'd slept with Isabelle Lightwood, all the soft kisses and warm touches had happened, and he hadn't dreamt them. His first thought was to jump into the air and shout very loudly until his voice stopped working, but then he remembered she must've left in the morning before he'd woken up, and she obviously didn't care about him anymore than she had before. He frowned, and felt utterly deflated, before he turned to leave, seeing no point in standing outside her door for anymore time than he had to, or ever really going down that corridor again.

If he'd stayed a minute longer, perhaps he would have seen a hopeful Isabelle open her door again, her expression excited but anxious, looking for him outside her room, only to be disappointed to a point of depression that he wasn't, in fact, there.

**###**

Tessa turned out to like the game she was playing a lot more than she should have, enjoying the way Will got angry every time she cheated or didn't go by the rules.

"What are the three colours in the German Flag?" She asked, looking up at Will and putting the card behind her back, as she'd started doing when he'd started seeing the answers. They were both sitting cross-legged on the spare bed next to the bathroom, playing_ Trivial Pursuit_ as rain bucketed down outside, and Will was currently winning.

"Black, red and gold" Will said automatically. She scowled, and Will grinned at her, and she was aware of the slight ache in her back from slouching. He rolled the dice, and landed on pink, the one wedge he didn't have. Tessa picked up a card and sighed, before looking up at him.

"You're gonna get this one" she said, sounding defeated, which, ultimately, was what she was.

"You don't know that, just ask the question" Will pressed, eager to win. Apparently his family had - and anyone he'd ever really played a game with - called him a sore winner, he'd explained when they'd started playing.

"Who directed the movie 'Alien'?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him expectantly.

"Ridley Scott" Will answered immediately, sounding very sure of himself. Tessa threw the card down on the board and fell back onto the pillow, her hands on her face, and Will jumped and danced in a circle.

"We are the chaaaaaaaampions...my friends" Will started singing, and Tessa groaned and looked up at him, shaking her head while laughing.

"And we'll keep on fighting...till the end" he said, jumping up onto the bed and closing his eyes dramatically.

"No time for looooooooosers, cause _I_ am the champion" Will sung loudly, while Tessa laughed so hard she couldn't breathe. He dropped down onto his knees and lowered his voice to a whisper "_of the world_". Tessa held her sides, her eyes squeezed shut as she rolled onto her side.

"Oh...oh my god that was beautiful" she breathed, wiping a tear from her eye and looking over at him. He was smiling, and that made her smile.

"What do I get for winning?" He asked, as she sat up and looked him in the eyes, grinning widely.

She shrugged. "Anything, I guess".

"Anything?" He repeated, raising his eyebrows and leaning in slightly.

"Yeah, thats what I _just said_-" she was cut off by Will leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers, as softly as he could manage. Her hands went to his cheeks to pull him from her, and she squashed his cheeks together, so their faces were only an inch apart, his eyes so close it was all she could see.

"You said _anything_" Will said, his voice coming out weird through the fish lips she was making him have. She searched his eyes for any sign of regret, or guilt, or any other emotion than amusement, and found none. Without thinking, she let go of his face and put her hands on his neck, feeling the soft black hair at the base of it under her fingertips. She pulled his face towards hers, and their lips crashed together, and he braced himself with his hands on either side of her, as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Her hands dropped from his neck and fisted the material of his sweater, which in her opinion, _needed to come off_.

She was Tessa Gray, she didn't do this kind of thing, and she was from..._where was she from again_? She couldn't remember. All she knew was Will was kissing her, _again_. This time was different from last time though, way different, and also much, _much_ better.

His hands moved to go on her waist, and stayed there, but hers, feeling like she wasn't controlling them, moved down to his lower back, where she pulled his sweatshirt up, and she felt him laugh softly. They broke away long enough for Will to get himself free of the jumper, which Tessa had rather awkwardly left around his shoulders, not being able to pull it up any further.

_What was she doing, what was she doing, what was she doing? _

Will grinned at her, his lips very pink and inviting, showing off straight white teeth, his canines a bit longer than the rest and she bit her lip. He made a deep sound in the back of his throat and leaned in to kiss her again, and as he did she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down, feeling his smile against her mouth. Her head was against the bare pillow of the spare bed, and he had propped himself up on his elbows, so he didn't crush her. He kissed along her jaw, and she giggled, despite wishing she hadn't, and as he kissed down her neck she felt his smile widen against the underside of her chin. He kissed the spot where her pulse was jumping, and she laughed again, barely able to stop herself.

He looked up at her, laughing slightly himself. "Am I _that_ bad at this, that you're laughing at my attempts?" He asked, joking.

"Maybe" Tessa shrugged, before pulling him down to her lips again, feeling his hands under her shirt and on the skin of her waist, sending shocks to her fingertips.

"_BY GOD IN HEAVEN_" a male voice exclaimed, and Will and Tessa looked up, Will still holding Tessa to him and Tessa with her hands on his neck. Jace and Clary were in the doorway, both drenched and dripping onto the carpet, wearing equal expressions astonishment. Clary's open mouth was resting on her chest, and Jace had started to laugh.

Tessa now understood why Clary got so mad when she came in without knocking.

"I get why Tessa always looks so shocked when she comes in now" Jace laughed, doubling over. Tessa pushed Will off her quickly, and he jumped up, his cheeks bright red in the most adorable way.

Will punched Jace on the shoulder lightly, but Jace kept laughing, now on his knees, Clary still with the same expression as before on, her curly hair pasted against her forehead and temples.

"Sorry" Tessa mumbled to her, although she didn't feel especially sorry.

Clary shook her head, a bit too fast to be casual. "No, its cool" Clary said as though she was being choked. Tessa remembered sounding like that and saying those kind of words to Clary when she'd first met her, under the same kind of circumstances.

"I suppose this'll be fun to tell Jem" Jace breathed hysterically, his hands on his knees, and the colour drained from Will's face instantly, and he pushed past them without even saying goodbye, sprinting down the hallway as fast as he could.

**Um, alright, hope you enjoyed it I guess, and if you did _please _review, and if you didn't, let me know somehow so I can try and fix it (if its fixable, that is). Thanks for reading, have a good night/day wherever you are.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thankyou to everyone that reviewed :)) **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Cecily held the bottom of her shirt in her hands, her lips sore from the amount of times she'd bitten them. She was nervous, although she didn't exactly know why, because it was just Gabriel, who'd she'd dated for quite awhile before they'd broken up. But a month was a long time, and who knows how much someone could change over that time.

The boys' corridor was different, Cecily thought. It had the same white walls and blue carpeted floor, with wooden doors and seven rooms every corridor. Gabriel's room was the third one down, and she prayed he was there, because she really didn't feel like going around asking everyone if they'd seen him. The rain was pouring down outside, so she doubted he'd gone out, but what did she know? Perhaps he'd wanted to take a very wet, very miserable walk?

She planted her feet shoulders width apart, took a deep breath and knocked firmly on the door. Her heart sunk when Jordan answered, a smile on his face and a pepsi in his hand. _How the hell does he have one of those_? She thought briefly, before remembering that she was here to see Gabriel, and also that Simon had miraculously gotten a mini fridge into his room, without arising superstition or curiosity from any of the school's staff.

"Oh, hi" Jordan greeted, offering a small wave. Cecily didn't return it.

I"m here to see Gabriel. Is he in?" She asked, not moving from where she stood, and crossing her arms. Jordan made a face and put his hand on his neck, looking back into his room quickly.

"Ummmmmmmm" he mumbled, and looked down at her face "no. He went to get his cast off". Cecily instantly felt her stomach drop, and she sagged down, slouching.

"_Of course_" she whispered to herself, putting her hand on her forehead. Jordan shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"You, can...uh...you can wait here for him if you'd like" he offered, his voice sounding slightly strained.

Cecily nodded, and followed him inside, happy to see it was only Jordan in the room. He lay down on his stomach and opened his computer, happily scrolling through something and occasionally taking sips of his drink. Cecily sat with her hands folded in her lap, waiting for the door to open and Gabriel to walk in.

"So, pardon me for asking, but didn't you and Gabriel break up?" Jordan said, breaking the tension filled silence, not looking at her as he said it.

"Yeah, we did" Cecily admitted, biting her lip "but I'm hoping we can get back together".

"He's been pretty depressed lately you know" Jordan pointed out casually, taking another small sip "I don't want you to make him feel any worse".

Cecily felt her cheeks go red with anger, and she balled her fists at her sides. "And what gives you the right to say whats best for him?" She questioned hotly.

"I didn't mean it like that" Jordan said calmly, turning his body so he was on his side, looking at her in the eyes. "Its just, if you being here makes him feel worse I'm going to feel responsible".

Cecily cocked her head to the side and looked at him through narrowed eyes. "I'm not here to make him feel bad! I'm here to ask him if he'll take me back, actually!"

"But, what I'm_ trying_ to _say,_ is that whats best for _him_? Is he better off with you?" Jordan asked, sounding what Cecily thought was like a psychiatrist.

Cecily stopped short, and frowned down at her feet. _Maybe he was right. Maybe she was being selfish in thinking he was going to take her back_?

"I think you might be right" Cecily said quietly, licking her lips "I'll go now". She picked herself up and left, feeling numb. Her mind seemed separate from her body, and she felt utterly deflated. She pressed her back to the wall next to his door and slid down to the ground, her elbows on her knees and her eyes trained to the floor. A pair of worn out black sneakers came into her line of vision and she didn't even really acknowledge them, the only thought going through her head was that whoever the shoes belonged to, they were very big.

"Cecily?" A voice asked, although through her ears it sounded watery. She looked up into the very confused face of Gabriel Lightwood. He had an eyebrow raised, and he was holding his arm reflexively against his chest, the skin slightly pink and sore looking.

"Hi" she said, smiling weakly "please go out with me again".

**###**

Henry gulped, and licked his lips nervously. He'd never really thought about what dating Charlotte might be like, since he thought it would never happen. She sat next to him, her eyes trained to the movie screen. Henry wasn't even sure he understood anything that had been happening. Charlotte had picked the movie, and he hadn't argued, considering he didn't think he was in the position to. They were both soaking wet by the time they'd reached the theatre, and Charlotte was sitting (probably uncomfortably) in a blue dress and jacket. Henry's own hair was plastered to his forehead and temples, and his clothes were sticking to his arms and legs, his socks spongy and sluggy in his shoes. Charlotte's arms were crossed in front of her, and she looked angry. Truthfully, she hadn't actually said much to Henry the entire day, which made him wonder if he'd done anything to upset her lately.

"Charlotte?" Henry whispered, moving his body so his torso faced her. She shushed him and continued to watch the movie, frowning with her eyebrows pinched together. He sighed and turned to face the screen, where a rather large and cheesy declaration of love was being displayed.

He sat through the entire movie, in total silence, going over from eight this morning to now, wondering if he'd done anything to annoy or displease her. He honestly couldn't think of a single thing, other than possibly having bad breath, or when he'd tripped over with the popcorn and almost spilled it everywhere.

_Thank god,_ Henry thought,_ its over_.

The lights came on overhead, and Charlotte immediately got up and slid past Henry, not waiting for him to follow as she climbed the stairs. It didn't take Henry very long to catch up, her being so small and all, and him being so tall. He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her gently back to him, and she tried to shake his hand off.

"What?!" She snapped, and he instantly let go, sucking in a breath. He'd been friends with Charlotte for some time, and she'd never talked to him like this. Sometimes she'd be exasperated or a bit annoyed, but never had she yelled at him.

"Charlotte, whats wrong?" He asked gently, leading her over to the side of the walkway, so they weren't blocking anyone from walking.

"Nothing. Can we go now?" She muttered, not looking him in the eyes.

"Its bucketing down out there" he told her, bending his knees so he could be eye level with her "you'll get sick if you get any colder. Look, you're shivering right now".

"I am not" Charlotte said, but he knew he was right. She was shivering from head to foot, his lower lip trembling and goosebumps decorating her arms. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing his hands over her arms to try and get rid of the bumps. She shied away from him like his touch burnt, and he dropped his hands and took a step back.

"If you _really_ want to we can walk back now" Henry said, wishing that his umbrella hadn't blown inside out on the walk over.

"Yes, lets do that" Charlotte agreed, and continued to walk through the movie theatre until they were at the exit. Henry pulled his beanie over his head and gulped, stepping out into the bustle of people after Charlotte and instantly feeling his shoulders get wet. He was taller than most of the people around him, but Charlotte wasn't, and he couldn't see her any longer.

"Charlotte?" He called out, the rain and people drowning him out "CHARLOTTE?"

She didn't reply.

"_Damn it_" he muttered, and pushed people aside and searched for his runaway date.

**###**

Gideon wasn't a violent person, he knew that. He believed in the power of words instead of fighting, and he had always stood by that thought his whole life.

Then why, he asked himself, after putting up with a self centred Father, a little brother and a stupid sister, did he punch someone? Jonathan was probably the most aggravating person Gideon had ever met, but he didn't understand what made him so unbelievably disgusting as a human being. Jonathan's sister, of course, was Clary Fray, who neither looked like him nor acted like him. She had chosen to take their mothers last name and live with her in New York, while Jonathan went and lived with their father in Europe.

He pressed the bag of ice to his face and rubbed his jaw in small circles, sitting in front of the principals desk with Jonathan in the chair beside him, who had a black eye and a swollen lip adorning his usually handsome face.

"I hope you two have an explanation for this" Mr Shadowhunter said, folding his hands in front of him. He had obviously come from somewhere else, not wearing his usual suit, but golfing clothes and gloves.

Jonathan glared over at Gideon, his impossibly black eyes trying to burn holes in his skin. Gideon glared right back.

"Well?" The principal asked, his patience wearing thin. Gideon and Jonathan stared stonily ahead, neither supplying information or saying they couldn't.

"So, let me understand this?" He said, his tone rising with anger "you two just happened to get into a fist fight in the cafeteria for _no apparent_ _reason_? Is that what you're saying?"

"I called his girlfriend ugly" Jonathan admitted, no emotion colouring his voice, still staring at a point behind the principal's head.

"Now, there, see? That wasn't too hard was it?" Mr Shadowhunter sighed, leaning back into his chair, his fingers on his forehead. He looked up at Gideon very quickly. Gideon, fortunately, understood the look. It was the one when teachers let you see they weren't just teachers, but actual people who understood why you punched someone in the nose.

"So, you understand Jonathan, I'm going to have to contact your father about this" he said, his tone calmer than before.

"WHAT?!" Jonathan jumped in his seat, his face red with anger "he's the one that started it! Call _his_ Father!"

Gideon shook his head, and knew that he'd gotten off easy.

But Jonathan had no right calling Sophie anything, even if it was to complement her, but to go right along and call her downright _ugly_? Gideon wouldn't stand for it. Usually, he would have told Jonathan to go away, or shut up. Instead, he'd punched him in the mouth, the nose, and then the eye, before turning around to see if Sophie was okay. That was when Jonathan had leapt off the ground and tackled him to the floor, slamming Gideon's head on the linoleum tiles of the cafeteria.

"I might call both your fathers, actually" the principal said, leaning back into his chair. Jonathan let out an exasperated breath, and put his head in his hands, his blond hair falling over his fingers. Gideon stared at the principal, trying to pass a message through mind control.

_Please don't call my Dad,_ _please don't call my Dad, p__lease don't call my Dad_.

Personally, Gideon thought, he didn't really care if his father got disappointed or angry, but he was worried he might pull him out of the school. He couldn't leave now, after meeting Sophie, or any one of his friends, really.

"Okay, go to class now" Mr Shadowhunter sighed, putting his hand on his forehead and making a gesture.

"Sir" Gideon said, rising from his chair "it's...its saturday".

"Then go to your dorms!" He burst out, jumping slightly in his chair. Gideon left instantly, leaving Jonathan where he was.

**###**

Jem knew he shouldn't have gone for a walk through the rain, and he'd probably come down with pneumonia or something. His hair was flopping in different places, the rain making it go dark, reminding him of its original colour. He'd had black hair before, and brown eyes, and he hadn't been so incredibly pale. It had been years though, since he'd been put on the drug, and he barely remembered what he'd looked like without the help of pictures or videos.

He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his damp and clammy sweatshirt and made his way down the hallway, stopping outside his door when he heard the very loud voice of Jace.

"Oh, and make my bed too" he said lazily "I've been meaning to do it for ages but never quite gotten around to it, you know?"

"Anything else, your highness?" Will questioned sarcastically, and Jem heard the sounds of fabric being picked up.

"Well, yes, actually. I'd like you to give me a foot massage"

"What? _No_" Will protested, and Jem heard Jace sigh.

"Well, if you don't want Jem to find out..."

"Jem to find out what?" Jem asked, opening the door and sitting on his bed, undoing his shoelaces and looking up at Jace. Jace looked casually good looking as always, his blond hair slightly damp, his expression startled. Will was standing over Jace's bed, one of his pillows in his hands and his lips swollen ever so slightly. The room looked like it had been cleaned, surprisingly, and the floor around Will's bed was actually visible, and Alec's bed made to perfection.

"_Jem to find out what?_" Jem repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"That I played your Violin" Will blurted out, and Jem watched Jace, who looked like he was going to throw up's face relax.

"Oh?" Jem said, leaning back against his pillows and grinning at them "were you any good?"

"I was _magnificent_" Will admitted, fluffing Jace's pillow and putting it down on his bed.

"Ah" Jem laughed, and put his hands behind his head.

Jace and Will exchanged nervous glances, before smiling widely at Jem and slipping out the door, leaving him slightly confused on his bed.

**Thankyou for reading! If you liked it, please review, follow or favourite! All three are appreciated greatly. If you didn't, please message me or leave a review saying why you didn't and hopefully I can fix it. Have a good day/night wherever you are :D) **


	15. Chapter 15

**A big thanks to those who reviewed. Also, I officially dedicate the song _campus_ by vampire weekend to this fanfic ;)**

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Henry's hair was dripping, and he was soaked down to the skin when he finally found Charlotte. He'd hoped she was walking back to school, and he'd been right, spotting her a few meters away, darting between people in the crowd.

"Charlotte!" He yelled, waving his hands and jumping up and down. For a second she looked at him, and then averted her eyes and tucked a wet rope of brown hair behind her ear, and continued walking.

"Oh, for God's _sake_" Henry cursed, pushing past several old ladies and getting smacked with a purse. He put his hand on Charlotte's shoulder and pulled her under the awning of a café.

She looked up at him resentfully, her arms crossed over her chest and drops of water clinging to her eyelashes.

"Why'd you run off like that?" He questioned, watching her jaw set "bloody scared me half to death!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Henry, did I ruin your afternoon?" Charlotte asked meanly, and Henry flinched away from her. He felt himself flush from his ears to his chest, and he looked down at his feet.

"What's wrong?" He mumbled, knowing something was, even if she said it wasn't. From his time around Charlotte he knew that when she said nothing was wrong something was definitely wrong.

"Why didn't you just _tell me_?" She asked quietly, frowning "I would have understood, you didn't have to lie".

"Lie about what?" He yelled, tugging on his hair, not wanting to be loud, but becoming rapidly confused.

"Your roommate Jonathan told you me what you said, Henry" Charlotte said matter-o-factly, gulping.

"My roommate Jonatha-wait...what?" Henry asked, pointing a dripping finger at her "what _exactly_ did he say?"

"He said that you felt bad for me" Charlotte said, without a trace of self-sorrow in her voice, only the stubborn pride it always held "that's why you're here now".

"And you believed him?" Henry asked quietly, putting his thumb and forefinger on her chin and lifting it so she had to look at him.

"Maybe" she said, a small smile playing on the edge of her lips.

"Charlotte...the guys a prick" Henry said, and Charlotte giggled, making him break out in a grin.

"I'm sorry" Charlotte apologised, looking him the eyes with her large brown ones.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. If I'd acted better you wouldn't have believed that bastard in the first place-"

"Nonsense. I'm just very stupid, that's all" Charlotte laughed, wringing her hair out.

Henry - still smiling - leaned in and quickly placed a chaste kiss to Charlotte's lips, and felt his own cheeks go up in flames. Charlotte flushed, and bit her lip adorably, trying to hold back a smile.

"I am in _desperate_ need of a hot bath" Henry said suddenly, his eyes widening. Charlotte frowned, and pulled at where his wet shirt stuck to his stomach, and looked up at him.

"Yes, I'd say you are" she agreed, before she burst out laughing.

Henry stood with an eyebrow raised, a mixture or horror and confusion showing on his face. _She's a madwoman_, he thought, as she put a hand on a rusty table, and bent over, giggling hysterically.

"What...a...thing...to...say...after...kissing...s omeone!" She managed, clutching her stomach "'_I am in desperate need of a hot bath_'. Who says that?"

"Charlotte" Henry said, a crease between his eyebrows "it wasn't _that_ hilarious was it?"

Charlotte nodded, her eyes squeezed shut, and Henry didn't think she was breathing.

He pulled her out into the rain, but she still hadn't stopped laughing, despite becoming drenched all over again. Henry, still not sure what quite to do to get her to stop laughing, wrapped both his arms around her waist, bending his back uncomfortably, and held his own elbows tight, so his face was level with hers. He could feel her laughter vibrating on his own chest, and he sighed loudly, shivering as rain trickled down the back of his neck.

He tilted his head to the side so his nose brushed her cheek as he pressed his lips firmly to hers, stopping her mid laugh. She responded incredibly quick, jumping slightly onto her toes and wrapping her own arms around his neck.

Her lips tasted oddly of metallic, which Henry guessed was from the rain, and when she leaned to one side her hair brushed his face.

He pulled away quickly and turned to sneeze, thanking God no one was behind him, or that he'd had the common sense to not sneeze in Charlotte's face.

"Sorry" Henry apologised, running a hand over his hair, trying to smooth it down with the aid of the water in it. Not to his surprise, it didn't work.

But Charlotte was laughing again, and Henry sighed greatly and scooped her up in his arms, shuffling around people, knowing this way, he wouldn't lose her again.

**###**

**The next day**

"And you said_ no_?" Gideon asked, his eyebrows raised an incredulous expression on his face. Gabriel stared glumly down at his hands, and nodded.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Gideon asked, smacking Gabriel upside the head.

"Excuse me, but I'd rather you didn't hit him" Jordan interjected, sounding mildly concerned.

"Oh, bugger off" Gideon said "he's acting like a complete moron, he deserves a slap to the_ face_, really".

Jordan made a face but said nothing, stepping out of the room and leaving the brothers alone.

"You are so unbelievably daft, I swear" Gideon said, running a hand through his hair.

"I know. I'm stupid, and an idiot, and a blockhead, and a tool, and an imbecile, and a jerk, and a twit" he mumbled meekly.

"If you know all of that then why'd you say no? You obviously love her, look how depressed you've been lately!" Gideon argued.

Gabriel stared his brother in the face, searching for something he couldn't place. He wished he could tell him, tell him that he really did _love_ her, and that he thought he was doing what was good for her, despite how sick it made him feel. She really did deserve someone a bit better than himself, someone that could keep up with her, not his unenthusiastic, boring self.

"I don't want my arm broken again" Gabriel said as an excuse, holding up the arm Will had snapped. And he really didn't, but that wasn't why he had said no at all.

"Oh, shut_up" _Gideon snorted, sitting down on Gabriel's bed. "I know when you're lying" he said, his tone softer.

"I'm not lying, I'm telling the complete truth. I can't stand her, or her brother" Gabriel retorted, sticking his chin in the air. Just saying the words left a bad taste in his mouth. Gideon's eyes narrowed, and he scowled at him.

"You're such a little liar" Gideon snarled, startling Gabriel slightly. Since when did he care? He was about to remark that _A._ He was actually taller than Gideon, so he couldn't call him little and _B._ He wasn't lying, when Gideon got up and left, undoubtedly going to class.

_God I hate mondays, _Gabriel thought. He could still remember how he'd told her, finding her outside his door, ironically in the same place she'd sat to break up with him. He'd paused for a minute, before saying strongly and surely, _no_. She hadn't waited around to hear why, picking herself up and sprinting out of sight, her head bowed.

_God, I hate_ _myself_. He corrected, before grabbing his math book and heading to class.

**###**

Monday was a terrible day for Will.

Not just because he had to go to class, but because he had to see Tessa and Jem. Monday was the day he had a double period of P.E, with another class; Jem's. Not only was he going to see Tessa, and try not to run to her and kiss her all over her face, but Jem would be there, and make him feel bad for wanting to do that.

As he stepped out into the gymnasium, feeling uncomfortable in the black polo and sport shorts (that did not stretch as much as he tried to make them_) _he spotted Tessa, a basketball in her hand, smiling at Jem. They were talking, and she was nodding and beaming at him, and Will supposed Jem was doing the same, but he could only see the back of his silvery head.

He looked away and bit his lip, frowning at the ground.

He spent the entire first period kicking around a football with Jace, who preferred, as he'd said, _"to call it a soccerball", _to which Will had replied that Americans were stupid. Their gym teacher was probably the most unenthusiastic man, who sat on a plastic chair the entire time, reading car magazines and playing temple run on his phone. Most of the girls usually went to sit on the mats and talk for the lesson, except for a handful, who actually played some sort of sport.

Tessa, to Will's bad-luckiness, decided she wanted to teach Jem basketball. Jem was quite hopeless at it, which seemed to be a very large amusement to Tessa, who laughed every ten seconds, making Will wish she wouldn't. He didn't want her to enjoy herself if he wasn't the one making her laugh.

_I'm a jealous bastard, _he thought, shaking his head, _and I'm not afraid to show it_. He clapped his hands twice and started humming _if you're happy and you know it _as Jace passed the ball back, wiping his arm across his forehead. Jace pulled the hem of his shirt up and pressed it to his temples, and Will heard several girl's squeal and giggle. He rolled his eyes, and Jace grinned, putting his shirt down as Will kicked the ball high. Jace jumped and head bumped it back to him, his smile spreading from ear to ear.

Will caught the ball and put it under his arm, looking over at Tessa and Jem, who were laughing...still. Jem was dribbling the ball slowly over to the hoop, where Tessa stole it off him and smirked. Will grimaced at them. Jem tried to grab the ball off Tessa, but she reached her arm out, making Jem wrap his around her to try and get it. Will's top lip was pulled up so far it hurt, and he didn't even notice as Jace jogged over to him until he popped the ball out from under his am.

"What are you staring at?" He asked, following Will's gaze, landing on Tessa and Jem and whispering "_oh_". Will scowled at his feet and shook his head.

"It's fine" he said, although his voice sounded distant, and to speak was painful.

"If you say so" Jace shrugged, and patted Will on the back, before bouncing the ball on the back of Will's head.

"I am _very close_ to killing someone" Will whispered, still looking at his toes "don't make my first victim you".

Jace ran down the other end of the basketball court and made a gesture to kick the ball to him. Will wished it wasn't raining, so they could play outside on the actual field, and not have to share it with people playing basketball or the people trying to play cricket.

Will watched as Jonathan Morgenstern laughed on the other end of the court, close to Jace, and drop kicked the ball at Tessa. It hit her in the back, and she turned, her mouth making an O shape, startled.

"Sorry!" Jonathan called out, grinning rather wickedly, and elbowing his friend lightly. Will shoved his hands in his pockets to stop them from shaking.

"Its fine!" Tessa called back, smiling good-naturedly, and waving, before throwing his ball back and turning back around to face Jem.

As soon as Jonathan got the ball back, he kicked it at her again, hitting her dead smack on the back of the head, making her drop forward onto her knees. Will turned to see if the Teacher was watching, but he was too busy trying to persuade Jace to put his shirt back on.

Tessa stood up, turning and frowning, and picked up the ball again.

"Sorry!" Jonathan yelled again, putting his hands on either side of his mouth. His friends on either side of him laughed, and Will knew his face was probably red.

"Okay!" She called back, and very stupidly, Will thought, threw the ball back to him. Jem glared mutinously at Jonathan, who actually _fist bumped _one of his friends and lined the ball up with his foot. He kicked it again, and it hit the back of Tessa's knees, and she fell backwards onto Gideon Lightwood, who caught her with fast reflexes.

Jem and Will both ran forward at Jonathan, who was halfway into yelling sorry again, when they tackled him to the ground. Jem grabbed him by his collar and Will punched him in the face, anger coursing through his body and radiating off him in rolls. Blood trickled down Jonathan's face from his nose, and Will saw very quickly in between bouts of anger that Jonathan already had a black eye and a busted lip.

Will felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and got yanked back by it, kicking Jonathan as Henry dragged him away, struggling against Will's strength. Simon had pulled Jem off, who was by Tessa's side in an instant, having been let go. Henry still had his arm wrapped around Will's neck, almost choking him. _It's because I'm still struggling, _he thought_,_ suddenly going limp_. _Henry let go, and Will didn't move, watching proudly as Jonathan rolled over and groaned in pain, then he raised his hand to his nose and saw it come away red.

Will was oddly glad that he'd made him bleed.

Jace ran past with his shirt over his head, the teacher racing after him, blowing the whistle repeatedly. Bridget, of all people, took the opportunity to run up to Jonathan and kick him in the side sharply, running away just as quickly with a smile on her face.

The teacher finally seemed to catch on, and snapped his fingers.

"You, you and you. Here. Now" he said, pointing to Jem, Jonathan and Will. Will skipped obediently up to him, smiling broadly. Jonathan deserved being hurt, really. Jem asked Tessa if she was alright one more time before very graciously helping up Jonathan as only Jem would, and walked over to where Will stood.

"All three of you, principal's office, go" the teacher seethed, and Will smiled so wide he showed his teeth at him, and walked out of the gym, every pair of eyes on his back.

**###**

"Why," the Principal seethed, his hands on his temples "is it when someones been punched, its always you, Jonathan?"

Jonathan shrugged, and Will felt like saying exactly why (_because he's a bastard_) but decided against it.

"I'm definitely calling your father now" he said, writing it down on a notepad on his desk. Jonathan groaned and ran his fingers through his hair.

"As for you, James and William, what do you have to say for yourselves?" Mr Shadowhunter asked, turning to them, his hand on his chin.

"Well, personally" Will started "I think we made him look better".

Jem put a hand to his face, shaking his head, and sighed heavily.

Will grinned.

**Next chapter will be longer, I promise. If you liked it, please review, favourite or follow, its greatly appreciated. If you didn't, or you have any constructive criticism, please feel free to message me. Thankyou for reading! Have a good day/night wherever you are. **


	16. Chapter 16

**THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Henry leaned forward and sneezed loudly into a tissue, and pushed the hot water bottle closer to his stomach.

"Dear, I'm afraid you have the flu" the nurse said a bit pitifully, putting the back of her hand on Henry's forehead.

"Really?" He asked, his voice thick and nasally. She nodded, and stood from his bed, and smiled down at him. The Nurse and Henry had really become good friends in the short time he'd been at this school, on the accounts of the many injuries he'd acquired. There was the time he'd super-glued his fingers together in shop class, or when he fell off a ladder in the library getting Charlotte a book she couldn't reach. They'd even once played cards once and waited to see if he had a reaction from accidentally swallowing a copper sulphate mixture in Science. He could go on and on.

"You'll be feeling well in about a week, but until then, no classes. Stay in bed. I'll tell your teachers" she said, and pushed his hair down, and sighing when it sprang back up again.

She left after that, and Henry leaned back into his pillows. He guessed it was all the rain kissing that caused it, or just the rain, but flu or no flu he didn't regret kissing Charlotte. He'd known her since the beginning of High School, but they hadn't gone to the same school, and he'd begged his parents to let him go to her school to be closer to her. He reminded himself mentally to call them and say thank you.

"So, you don't have to go to class?" Gideon asked, throwing a shirt over his head.

"Nope" Henry said unhappily, wiggling his toes in his socks.

"I should say I have the flu more often" Gideon laughed, and smiled at Henry, who didn't even try to return it. He felt too sick.

"Shouldn't we let Jonathan back in?" Thomas asked, looking up from a book.

Henry, shook his head very gently, closing his eyes. Gideon also shook his head and Thomas shrugged and went back to reading. Gideon and Henry had refused to let Jonathan Morgenstern sleep in his own bed the night before, and he'd been forced to sleep outside, because no one else wanted him in their rooms. Henry didn't blame them, really.

Henry hated being sick. He'd come back from classes and gone straight to the nurse, his whole body achy and his head pounding. Gym had been the worst with trying to hold back Will Herondale, draining all of the energy he had, which wasn't much. He'd suffered through the rest of his classes sneezing and coughing so loud one teacher had sent him out. And now he was here, laying in his bed holding a hot water bottle to his stomach.

Before he knew it though, Henry drifted off to sleep, snoring loudly and contently.

**###**

Scraping gum off the bottom of tables after classes on Friday. Will could handle that as a punishment. Jem had to scrub permanent marker off whiteboards, and Jonathan faced suspension. The day was turning out great, and it was only after classes.

He felt happy, although he wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was from punching that dickhead Jonathan, or maybe it was defending Tessa, or fighting alongside Jem. Either way, he was the happiest man alive until he found Cecily.

She was walking down towards the library, wiping her eyes with a tissue and sniffing. Will had always made fun of her when they were little for being an ugly crier, but since he'd grown out of it all he could feel was pain and instant worry. He crashed down off cloud nine and ran to her, putting hands on her shoulders, and examining her face quickly.

"Cecy, what's wrong?" He asked anxiously, as she wiped another tear from her eye.

"Nothing, I'm just being an idiot" she managed, her voice thick.

"Tell me Cecily" Will ordered, and she raised her eyes to him, which were red, making the blue stand out.

"Um, not that it's any of your business, but I went to Gabriel yesterday and he rejected me" she said, raising her chin in the air and gulping. She sniffed, rather loudly, before throwing herself at Will's chest.

He put a hand on her back and one on the back of her head, and felt her sobs shake his body. _All this over a boy_?

"Why didn't he want me Will?" She asked, looking up at him with large wet eyes.

"I don't know Cecily" Will whispered, kissing the top of her head softly. She squeezed him so tight around the middle he gasped, and he could feel her tears going through his T-Shirt.

"Sometimes the people we need most leave us, Cecily, and there's nothing we can do about it" he said, catching sight of the tiny pink scar running up the middle of his forearm from where he'd punched the wall last month.

He tilted her chin up and looked her in the eyes "but you know that whatever happens, I'm always, _always_ here for you, do you understand?"

She sniffed and nodded, and he forced a smile to his face. "Good. Now wash your face and go to class" he chuckled, and Cecily laughed slightly and nodded, taking off down the corridor hurriedly.

_Ahahahaha_, Will laughed in his head, _I'm going to murder that bastard Gabriel_.

**### **

"Tessie!" Nate laughed, as their Skype call connected. He looked happy, his blond hair parted at the side and crinkles in the corner of his eyes from smiling. He was what looked like a common room, lots of guys behind him sitting around a T.V playing a videogame.

"Nate" Tessa said, smiling. It was nice to see a familiar face for once, and hear his comforting deep voice.

"Hows school going?" He asked, picking up his computer and walking around, making the video blurry.

"Its..." Tessa grasped for words, biting her lip. Could she say good? Could she say bad? What about confusing, that was always a good one right?

"Its different" Tessa said, and Nate threw back his head and laughed.

"That bad, huh?" He asked, now lying back against pillows, the video going back into focus. Tessa nodded, sighing, before a flicker of a thought popped into her mind.

"Did you date anyone while you were here?" She asked, already knowing the answer, just wanting to hear him say it himself.

"Yeah, actually, I did. Didn't really mean anything" he said, shrugging, before laughing "but that doesn't mean I want you to, Tessa".

"You know" Tessa said, feeling angry with no one in particular at the moment, but feeling angry nevertheless "I don't think _she_ thought it was nothing".

Nate frowned, and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Whats wrong Tessie? Do you want me to talk to Mom and Dad?" He asked, and Tessa sighed, sure he was going to avoid talking about Jessamine Lovelace at any costs, so she gave up.

"Actually, that would be amazing" Tessa yawned, and looked over at a pile of homework she had to do for tomorrow. She looked back at her camera and saw Nate's eyes drooping shut.

"I'm sorry to cut it short _Nathaniel," _Tessa said, blinking heavily and smiling kindly "but I need to do some school work and I'm sorta tired..."

"Yep, sure, thats fine. I love you Tessie, bye" he grinned sleepily, not waiting for her to say goodbye back and ending the call. Tessa closed her laptop and lay back against her pillows, with absolutely no intentions of doing any of her work, and instead laying alone in the dark and listening to the rain, thinking over things.

Will and Jem, was the most important, at that moment in time. In gym class Jem had asked her on another date, which she'd very politely declined. But Jem had acted completely fine, brushing it off like it didn't really matter, and Tessa wondered if it was all an act, or if he was just genuinely so...calm. Then there was Will, who displayed no interest in her, only showing massive bouts of emotion when he felt like it or when she least expected it.

It was very _confusing_.

**###**

Clary sat at a desk, bored out of her mind. Jace had insisted on coming to the library, where he read books she'd never heard of, or that weren't in english. She usually used this time to draw, or catch up homework, but she had left her sketch pad upstairs and she didn't have any homework. She needed to have a serious talk with her boyfriend, who seemed for the most part, uninterested in her. She was sure she loved him, but she didn't know if he felt the same way. At moments he would sweep her up and kiss her and tell her he loved her more than life itself, but others he would ignore her for days on end, not talk to her in the hallways or at lunch and dinner. That needed to end. She needed to know if he felt the same.

"Jace" she whispered, tugging on his shirt sleeve. She didn't know why she was whispering, they were the only ones still in the library, and they'd have to do back to their dorms soon.

He looked up at her and smiled, his golden eyes half closed, like he was sleepy. He looked amazing, as always, in a beanie and long sleeve black shirt, hiding the scars that covered his arms and back. There was another thing she didn't know about, _the scars_. She'd asked him, but he hadn't wanted to tell her, and he'd kissed her instead.

"Yeah?" He whispered a bit dreamily, placing his warm hands in hers and lacing their fingers together. She breathed in heavily, and looked him in the eyes.

"Do you love me?" She asked bluntly, and but he just smiled, and for some reason Clary was reminded of melting butter.

"I love you" he said simply, nodding, and put his book down.

"See, thats what you say now, Jace" Clary said, pulling her hand out of his "but what about tomorrow? Will you love me then? And the day after that?"

Jace's reaction was immediate and frightening, as he jerked away from her and scowled, looking her in the eyes the entire time. "What the hell's that meant to mean?" He hissed, his voice low. His hands were gripping the edges of the table, turning his knuckles white.

"Jace calm down" Clary ordered, and put her hand out "I'm saying that the way you act doesn't make me believe you".

"You think I'm lying?" He questioned, putting his hand on his chest "what would I stand to gain from that?"

"Why do you have to gain anything from anything?" Clary asked, tugging on her hair. She let out a frustrated groan and put her hands on her table, wishing she'd waited until they'd left the library to ask him this. This was the fifth fight they'd had in two weeks, and it was getting ridiculous. Their last one had been in the rain.

"Are you purposefully picking fights with me now?" He fumed, his breathing heavy, his nostrils flaring. To make matters worse for Clary, he still looked extremely attractive when he was angry.

"I'm not picking a fight with you Jace. I don't know if you knew this, but normal couples talk about their problems, and then try and resolve them" Clary said, her fists balled at her sides.

"Well, we're not a normal couple, _Clarissa" _he said, standing up from his chair abruptly "we're in highschool". His voice was like acid, and Clary felt herself flush with anger.

"So what we're in highschool? Does that automatically mean this isn't a real relationship for you?" She asked, standing as well, the legs of her chair screeching against the wooden floor.

"This is real _now_, Clary. I don't see why I have to constantly _talk_ to you to make you think I love you" he raged, and Clary took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"I think we should break-up Jace" she said, before nodding, as if she agreed with herself "yeah". Jace's expression dropped, and he suddenly looked confused.

"What?" He asked, blinking, his eyebrows tilted down.

"We," she said slowly, feeling particularly cruel for a brief moment "should _break up_".

"Um" Jace said, speechless, his eyes big and childlike "why?"

"Because you just dismissed us as a highschool romance, nothing more. I don't see any point in wasting my time" she said. Every word hurt her, and she didn't know why she was saying such mean things, but she wanted him to know how she felt all those times when he would ignore her trying to talk to him.

"Clary, I didn't mean it like that...I'm really sorry if it sounded like that..." he trailed off, looking around his feet like he'd lost something. Clary bit her lip and turned, leaving, before he could say anything else.

**###**

Will cupped her jaw in his hand and pushed his lips to hers, his eyes squeezed shut. Her mouth was warm, and her response instant. She gripped the back of his hair, and pulled his mouth down to hers harder, her tongue sliding over his bottom lip. He pushed his chest to hers, accidentally slamming her up against the wall. She winced, but didn't stop kissing him, letting go of his hair and grabbing the hem of his shirt and tugging it up. He smiled against her lips, and pulled away only to throw off his shirt, wasting no time in putting his hands on her hips and leaning his head down to touch his mouth to hers. Her arms went around his shoulders and she jumped and locked her ankles on his lower back, and he dropped his head to her neck and kissed it, feeling as if he was on fire. Then he was kissing her lips again, and he didn't remember how he'd gotten there again, but he didn't really care.

"Will" she whispered, her nails digging into his back. Encouraged, he pressed his mouth harder to hers, and she bit his lower lip, hard. Too hard. He pulled back jerkily and put his finger to his lip, and watched it come away with a dot of red.

"Jesus" he laughed, and looked up at her, obviously not noticing her expression of horror "calm down Tessa, no need to be violent". She wasn't holding his shoulders anymore, and jumped off him, standing between him and the wall, and he suddenly missed the contact.

"Tessa, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned for her and not for the coppery taste in his mouth.

She looked up at him, almost like she might cry and he raised his eyebrows, his eyes big.

"Did I hurt you when I pushed you up against the wall? 'Cause I understand if I did" he asked her, bending his knees so he could look her in the eyes. He put his fingers on her chin an pulled her face gently towards him, but she refused to look at him, her arms crossed over her chest. His skin was still burning, and he was sure his cheeks were bright red.

"Jem!" Tessa yelled straight into his face, her voice shaky, guilt a plain expression on her face.

"What?" Will asked, feeling the cold finally get to him, the skin of his back and arms tightening uncomfortably.

"Jem!" She screamed again, her shoulders slumping, her weight resting against the wardrobe. He was still standing close enough to her he could feel the heat of his skin, and it was all he could do not to pull her against him.

"What are you talking about Tess?" Will asked, his voice quiet. He knew the answer, but he hoped she'd surprise him and say something else.

"Jem" she whispered, a large tear rolling down her cheek, leaving a wet trail behind. She was hugging her elbows, and crying silently. Then she looked up at him and said "Will".

"Yes?" He asked, eager to make her stop crying.

"Will, mate, you're freaking out Alec" she said, her eyes no longer wet, because she was no longer crying. It looked like she never had been.

"Wha-?"

"WILL!" Jem yelled, and Will opened his eyes and jumped when Jem's face came suddenly into focus. His large silver eyes were inches away from his face, and Will pulled the covers up to his neck, although not sure why.

"Will, you were talking in your sleep" Jem said, his voice a bit distant. He moved to the side to reveal Alec, who was pressed up against the corner of his bed, an eyebrow raised.

"Christ, really?" Will asked, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. It was been so real, and vivid.

"Yeah, you also took off your shirt and defiled your pillow" Jem said, his voice low, without humour. Alec nodded very fast, his arms around his knees.

"Why were you saying Tessa?" Jem asked curiously, his eyes narrowed. Will gulped and knew if there was a time to tell him, it wasn't now. But he couldn't lie to Jem, he just couldn't.

"Because-" Will started, but was cut off when Jace stormed in, his face twisted in a scowl. Jem, Alec and Will watched him go over to his bedside table and pick up a book (thankfully not one of Will's) and opened a window. He experimentally tossed the book up and down twice, before chucking it out the window at full force and watching it fly over the roof of the girls' dorms, and into the darkness of the night and the rain.

"Jace, are you alright?" Alec asked, walking over to him and putting a hand on his back, his face one of brotherly concern.

"No" Jace said, shrugging off Alec's hand and laying face down on his bed, "I'm not".

**Next chapter will be better, and longer, with more fluff and stuff. If you liked it, please feel free to review. If you didn't, let me know somehow so I can try and fix it. On a side note, I saw City Of Bones! It was amazing, and I recommend going to see it ASAP. All I want to do now is cry over Robert Sheehan because he was absolutely perfect as Simon. Anyway, thankyou for reading! Have a good night/day wherever you are :) **


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed :) **

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Jonathan was a lot taller than everyone he stood next to, and he liked it that way. People parted when he walked through a crowd, giving him apprehensive looks and flinching.

Except for Cecily Herondale.

It was the perfect thing to him, really, Cecily was. She was hot, she was Will's little sister and she wasn't afraid to talk back to him. So whenever he passed her in the halls he would say something witty of sarcastic, and she'd smile against her will and say something back. It was almost a private joke now, so when he was talking to her outside the cafeteria, leaning up against the wall with one arm, he decided to do it. All her friends were standing a few paces behind her, giggling and whispering, but his eyes were on her.

"Hey" he said, jerking his chin up at her "me and some people are gonna hang out on our off day, you wanna come?"

He watched something pass over her eyes, and she bit her lip. "Sunday?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah" he said, looking down at her, not liking it when she wasn't being cocky. Insecure, shy girls pissed him off.

"I can't do Sunday. How about some other time?" She asked, smiling playfully and punching his arm.

"Choose a _day_, Herondale" Jonathan groaned, and she laughed.

"If I didn't know any better, _Morgenstern_, I'd say you were asking me out" she said, raising her eyebrow. Jonathan chuckled and leaned a bit closer, realising from this angle he could almost see down her shirt.

"So what if I am?" He asked, his voice coming out breathier than he'd liked it to have been. He think she would have replied with something, if Clary hadn't walked by at that moment and grabbed him by his shirtsleeve. For such a tiny person she was a lot stronger than she looked.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Jon?" She asked, using the nickname she'd given to him when they were younger. He secretly wished sometime that Clary hadn't gone with their Mom when their parents had broken up. But their mother had changed her, and so had New York. She wasn't the same sister he'd had when they were ten, even if she still called him Jon and remembered he liked two-minute noodles.

"Asking a girl out on a date...?" He said like it was obvious. Out of the corner of his eye he could see one of Cecily's friends run up to her and squeal.

"She's a year younger than you!" Clary whispered, her teeth clenched.

"So? Didn't she already go out with one of those Lightwood dicks?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Thats Jace's cousin" Clary said. She crossed her arms as if what she'd said finalised it, but Jonathan didn't see her point. He shrugged and she let out a sigh, before making an impatient gesture and putting her hand to her forehead.

"You know what Jonathan? Do whatever you want" she said, smiling dryly at him. She took off down the hallway again, her head low and her posture poor.

"Dad's coming over here, you know" he called after her, smiling as she froze, with her back to him. He thought she would come back and talk to him, but she kept on walking, looking even tinier than before.

**###**

"Clary, whats wrong?" Jem asked, lifting his head up. He was the only one at dinner so far, flipping through a book and waiting for Will to show up, or possibly Tessa. Clary's face was turned up in a mixture of sadness and anger, and as she threw her bag down and sat at the table without food, she huffed.

"My brother is a douchebag" she said, her head in her hands. Her red hair fell around her like a veil, blocking anyone from seeing her face, and Jem couldn't think of something to say. Although he certainly agreed. Jonathan Morgenstern was the definition of a douchebag, and he would have said so, too, if she hadn't picked herself up and left just as quickly as she'd came.

"Ah...okay" he said, and looked down at his book. Truthfully, he didn't really understand what was going on, and it wasn't really the type of book he read. But Tessa had said it was good yesterday, so he was giving it a chance. Well he'd actually given it a few chances since this morning, and he still didn't like it. He finally admitted it to himself that he would only read it (and finish it) because Tessa liked it, and maybe if he knew more about her he could talk to her a little easier.

Then there was Will, who said Tessa in his dreams last night. Jem didn't know what it meant. Tessa was very pretty, and maybe Will had just been having a dream about her? He had no idea. Either way, it was very funny how he'd slobbered all over his pillow . Knowing Will would never do anything to hurt him, Jem pushed the thought aside and looked down at his page. The letters swam and blurred in his vision, and he sighed and put it Jace walked in and made his way to Jem with a tray that had little food on it, and sat down where Clary had. He looked awful, the spaces under his eyes hollow and sunken, his hair messy. His shirt was also dirty, and only a small bowl of peas and a glass of water on his tray. Jace usually ate enough to feed several small countries in one sitting, so this made Jem a bit concerned.

"What happened with you last night, Jace?" Jem asked, only Jace's best interests in mind. Hopefully if he knew what was wrong he could help.

"I don't want to talk about it".

"Why?"

"Because I said so".

"Thats a terrible reason" Jem said politely, stabbing a piece of fish-stick with his fork idly.

"I don't really care" Jace said, smiling like knives and daggers.

"You know, Clary didn't seem to well either when I saw her. Maybe its a cold?" Jem said thoughtfully. Jace flexed his fingers quickly, and licked his lips.

"I don't really care about _that_, either" Jace admitted, his voice breaking. He coughed, then scratched his nose.

"Oh. Um, alright then" Jem muttered, feeling extremely uncomfortable. He hoped he didn't catch whatever they had, if they were ill, that was. The last thing he needed was the flu.

He looked down at his book as he took a sip of orange juice.

'_Adventures are all very well in their place, but there's a lot to be said for regular meals and freedom from pain'._

_Funny_, Jem thought. He considered that in most fantasy novels the heroes would usually go for days without food, never excuse themselves to use the bathroom, or ever mention sneezing or possibly stubbing their toes on various objects. This book was quite smart, like Tessa, and he supposed thats why she read it. He flipped the page over as someone joined them at the table, and Jem looked up and grinned. _  
_

"Hullo" he greeted, closing his book "hows our midnight Casanova?"

"Ha. Very funny James" Will said dryly, taking a gulp of water from Jace's glass. Will and Jace didn't seem to mind sharing things, Jem had noticed. They could share clothes, even if Jace's were a bit too tight on Will. They shared food and cups and sometimes even _socks_. Jem wished he'd had a brother, or a cousin, or anyone, really, he could share things with. But he had Will, and thats as close as he could ever get, which was pretty bloody close.

"You must be hungry" Jem said, opening his book again and pointing his fork at Will's food tray. It was piled up with food, overflowing onto the wooden table top. All around him people were talking and laughing and yelling, and Jem could barely concentrate on the page in front of him.

"I am" Will nodded, throwing his spoon down in his bowl of soup and watching as it stay there. "Thats never a good sign" he said, as the spoon slowly tipped into the green almost-solid that was Ms. Verlac's leak soup.

Jace was sadly spearing his peas onto a fork, covering the length of each prong with them. He looked like he might cry, and Will seemed like he wasn't saying something, almost _depressed_.

"Great book you're reading by the way" Will mumbled through a mouthful of food "_stardust_. Classic". Jem nodded, a bit detached from the conversation. So Will had read it too? Jem couldn't say he was surprised, there was barely a book Will _hadn't_ read. But still, it made him a little curious.

"Oi, Will, Tatianas staring at the back of your head" Jem chuckled under his breath, and jerked his chin to the far corner of the room. Tatiana was standing with her brother Gideon, who was obviously trying to tell her something, but she had her full attention on Will. Will snorted, and pointed his fork lazily at Jem.

"The day I care what Tatiana is or isn't doing will be the day hell freezes over" Will said, and Jem laughed.

"Actually" Tessa chimed in, appearing from nowhere and dropping a tray of food down "hell is cold. So it'd probably be frozen over already". She sat down next to Jem and smiled widely at him, her eyes crinkling in the edges briefly.

"So you _do_ care what Tatiana is or isn't doing" Tessa said to Will, flashing a toothy grin.

"_Smartass_" Will coughed into his hand, and Jace snickered. Tessa narrowed her eyes but said nothing, and started to eat.

Jem could feel tension building at the table, all with Will staring down the top of Tessa's head as she looked down at her plate, or Jace's mournful pea pronging.

"So, I read some of this today" Jem said, breaking the silence and holding up the book. He frowned to himself suddenly, feeling like something was extremely wrong in the pit of his stomach.

Tessa looked up at him, and Jem saw as Will averted his gaze very quickly.

"Oh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow "what did you think?"

"Its pretty good" Jem said, nodding, the brief conversation coming to a very sudden standstill.

"Good" Tessa said, looking back down at her plate like the meaning of life was spelled out in her pasta.

Jem almost smiled, but he felt a cough build up in his lungs, and he turned, stood, and coughed violently onto his sleeve, bringing his elbow up to his mouth. Will was immediately alert, standing from his chair and rushing over to Jem's side.

Jem felt as though his throat was burning, and he doubled over as another cough escaped him. Will was everywhere at once, asking Jem if he was alright, deep worry and anxiety etched across his face. Jem would have felt embarrassed about having such a bad attack in front of Tessa if he hadn't been in so much pain. Tessa and Jace were now standing, awkwardly hovering over him, not really doing anything. Jace was asking if he was alright, and Tessa had now run to get a teacher. _Great, just what he needed: a scene in the cafeteria_.

He couldn't talk, only cough and splutter, and when he drew his arm away from his face blood was staining his sleeve. Will was in obvious distress, a crease forming between his eyebrows. Jem was on his knees by the time the teacher showed up. Jace, Will and the teacher hoisted Jem up, and Jem leaned on the two boys, feeling light headed, but glad the coughing had finally stopped. Everything was slightly blurry and disoriented, but he still knew that Tessa was standing a few paces away, her hands over her mouth. He also knew everyone was staring at him, and he hated it so much. He wished so hard that he could just be normal, and that his illness would disappear overnight, so he could do normal things teenage boys did. Like run without worrying that he was going to start coughing up blood, or play football, or just go to sleep at night without ingesting a pound of medicine.

Jace and Will lowered him down onto the nurses table, and Jem heard the crinkling of the paper and the nurse's gasp. The words ambulance and medicine were mentioned, as well as call something about calling his family. He was slipping in and out of consciousness now, hearing sirens, unfamiliar voices and beeping, all at different intervals, and wishing it would all go away.

_Please, _he pleaded in his mind, _make it stop. _

**Thankyou for reading! Some sizzy-ish things going on next chapter and answers to certain peoples scars ;) I think I might start putting the day or the date its meant to be at the beginning of chapters or intervals. If you liked it please review! If you didn't, I'd appreciate if you could let me know why. Have a good night/day wherever you are :D)) **


	18. Chapter 18

**THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED**

**The characters belong to Cassandra Clare, but the plot however, belongs to me**

Will sat in the library with his head in his hands. His hair covered his fingers, and he stared at his feet in the darkness of a study corner, no lamps lit or other people around. The books were musty and old on this side of the library, covered in a thick layer of dust and grime, their laminated covers peeling and dirty. He'd dragged one of the smaller shelves that held magazines inwards, making a square wall around him, and blocking anyone from seeing him.

Jem had been Will's best friend for a long time, and not a day went by when Will wasn't grateful to God for blessing him with such an amazing person. He'd been an ass to everyone, purposely shutting them out his entire life until he'd met Jem, the only person he'd trusted with his true feelings since Ella. And of course, the person he happened to be able to tell anything and everything to had only a small time to live, and there was no cure. He'd thought Jem was getting better, he seemed happier and more content, having less attacks and looking healthier.

He'd been wrong.

If Will had payed more attention to Jem, instead of his own stupid problems he would have seen it, he would have seen whatever it was he hadn't been seeing since the beginning of the school year.

Will's face felt hot, and he furiously wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands. He blinked, and stared at the floor. Jem had never had to go to hospital before, and that thought made Will's hands shake and his heart contract. James Carstairs was one of the only people to ever truly know Will, and his time may have been up.

Before Will knew it, hot tears formed in his eyes, making his nose tingle. He cursed himself for being so sensitive, but right now, in his little make-shift privacy, he didn't really care if he shed a few tears about his terminally ill best friend. He sniffed, and bit his lip, before wildly slapping himself.

_No, no, no, no, no_. Jem didn't deserve to be in the hospital bed right now, he was the good one; the saint. Will was the one who should be there, he was the one who should be suffering, the one who should be dying. He was such a jerk, he almost was _meant_ to be there.

There was a knock on the outside of the make-shift room he'd made, and Will lifted his head. Blond curling hair peaked over the side, next to a brown ponytail and black hair.

"Fuck off" Will said, his voice croaky. He ran his hands over his face, wiping them on his trousers when they came away wet.

"Let me talk to him" Will heard Jace whisper to Alec and Tessa. The tops of Alec and Tessa's heads disappeared off somewhere else, and the shelf moved aside to reveal Jace. Jace had helped Will carry Jem to the nurses office, he'd also help get him into the ambulance truck when Will had lost his strength and not been able to do anything.

"What do you want?" Will asked, turning away from Jace. He didn't want anyone to see him cry, let alone Jace. But surprisingly, Jace walked up to Will and threw his arms around him and hugged him. Will hugged him back, and when they broke away Jace was looking him square in the eyes.

"He'll be okay" Jace said sagely, his hands on Will's shoulders. Will nodded, and looked down, his lips pressed in a tight line.

"The world can't exist without Jem," Jace said, his golden eyes serious and precise, trying to send the message to Will "he's going to come through like always. He's strong".

Jace left after that, leaving Will standing by himself, staring at his untied shoelaces. The image of Jem on the ground was all he could see. The panic he felt when he fell, all he could feel.

"Will?" Tessa's voice echoed softly around his make-shift den.

He looked up, and cursed himself almost instantly at the way his stomach dropped and his heart skipped the beat at the sight of her. She looked beautiful, as always, but she was frowning. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes dark in the low light, and she wasn't crying, which made him feel even worse.

"Isn't it funny," Tessa said, smiling weakly, her voice breaking "how roles can be reversed?" Will snorted, and wiped his eyes again. It seemed like years ago that he'd tried to comfort Tessa while she'd cried, when it was only mere months ago.

"What do you want, Tess?" Will asked, shaking his head lightly. If she'd come to make fun of him (which he guess he deserved, but couldn't she pick a better time?) he really could use a rain-check, because he wasn't up to it at all.

"Just to see if you were alright" Tessa said, putting her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Well, I'm not!" Will burst out suddenly, throwing her hand off him. Then it was like a dam broke in him, and he crumpled to the ground, his back shaking with a sob, but no tears coming. "I'm not okay, I'm sorry Tessa, I'm sorry". Tessa sank to her knees beside him, and hugged him with trembling hands.

"Shh, Will, its okay to get angry" Tessa said, stroking his hair back softly.

He wished he could tell her that he wasn't saying sorry just for that. He was saying sorry for all the times he'd been a jerk, or for when he'd made fun of her, or when he hadn't told her how he felt about her all the times he should have. But she was always Jem's, and he wouldn't come between that. Tonight made Will feel sure about that. That no matter how much he loved Tessa, he wouldn't act on it again, because Jem deserved Tessa, and Tessa deserved someone like Jem, not Will, especially not him. He wasn't like Jem, and he never would be. He would never be kind, or caring, or easy to talk to. No, he was unpredictable and stubborn, mean and unforgiving. He would go on pretending like he didn't care for her, pushing her away and being mean if he had to. But right now he was going to allow himself this.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, kissing her forehead, and leaning up against the book case, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

**###**

Gideon pulled away from kissing her, a warm smile spreading on his face like fire. Kissing Sophie was amazing, but she alway pulled away after a minute or two, looking as if she'd just committed a crime. It made him question his own kissing skills, as such, and he hoped it wasn't lack of said skills that made her pale every time he tried to display affection other than holding hands. He'd tried to kiss her before she gone into class once, and she'd stepped on his toes and hurried away.

Right now, they were alone in that coffee place he'd brought her to ages ago, sitting on an old couch on the upper floor while it poured outside. It was warm in here, but the window above them was fogging up, showing how cold it really was. Their coats and scarves were piled up between them, making Gideon's back strain from the way he had to sit to kiss Sophie.

She'd completely pulled away from him now, her hands on her knees while she chewed on her lip, looking sick.

"Soph, what's wrong?" Gideon asked, turning awkwardly onto the couch, one leg bent in front of him and the other with his foot firmly on the floor. As much as he loved the place, everything was too small for people as tall as him.

"Nothing," she squeaked, her hand jumping to the scar on her face "nothing's wrong".

"Sophie, I'm not stupid" Gideon said, rolling his eyes. If she told him, he could try to make it better.

"I didn't say you were" she said a little angrily, her eyebrows tilting down and her lips pouting.

"Please tell me what's the matter" he begged, hating it when she was sad.

"Nothing's the matter!" She said, turning towards him, her eyes wide and angry.

"Obviously, something wrong. Is it me? Did I do something?" He asked, taking her hand in his.

She quickly yanked her hand away and stood up, walking towards the staircase, her coat in her hand. It only took Gideon two steps to catch up with her, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back gently. She stared up at him like she hated him, and he hugged her close, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Sophie, please tell me what I can do to make you feel better" he whispered, tracing circles on her back with his thumbs.

"How can you even be seen with me?" She asked, her voice a bit muffled by the fabric of his T-Shirt. But he still heard it.

"What do you mean?" He asked, pulling her closer to his chest, liking the feel of her heartbeat on his and how tiny she felt.

"I am hideous!" She yelled, her hands gripping his shirt front and her eyes brimmed red. Gideon instantly panicked, not sure why she was sad and wishing she wasn't. It caused him physical pain when she was sad, and he couldn't handle seeing her cry.

"You are not!" He argued, as a tear slid down her cheek without the scar, and she didn't make a move to wipe it away. He watched it leave a track down her face, and finally he brushed it off her cheek for her.

"I am! I see girls look at us like they wonder why you're with someone like me, someone with a giant scar covering her face! Why would anyone in their right mind be with me?!" She asked, her lip shaking but her eyes intense. She was holding his shirt so tight the elastic collar was digging into the back of his neck, making Gideon lurch forward. Sophie instantly let go of his shirt and turned away from him, sniffing into her hands. She made a dash for the stairs, and Gideon stood up straighter and turned to her.

"Sophia Collins" Gideon said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest and watching as she turned around, startled.

"Sophie" he began, his eyes slightly narrowed "you are one of the most beautiful girls I have ever had the pleasure to see. I have thought you were amazing since I first laid eyes on you, and I still think you are. Even with that scar, you are the only person to ever catch my attention the way you have. You are kind, sweet, hard working and smart, which also contribute to why I _love_ you-" Sophie sucked in her breathe "-but if either one of us should wonder why they're with the other, its got to be me, because I am so lucky Sophie. I am so bloody lucky to get to even talk to someone as amazing as you. I thank whatever sent you to me everyday, because you are the reason I get up in the morning, and you are beautiful in every way that matters".

Sophie smiled at him, and hugged him tightly around his middle, whispering sweet nothings against his chest, her voice soft and delicate. Gideon kissed the top of her head and smiled as she whispered_ I love you too_ against his shirt, and as she pulled away he stepped back to look down at her and felt his legs hit a tiny table, which he promptly toppled over.

He landed with his feet in the air and his back to the floor, and Sophie leaned over him and smiled widely.

"We have to stop meeting like this" she laughed, and Gideon - despite the situation - couldn't help but grin broadly back.

**Okay, I know I said Sizzy but its late and it'll definitely be there first thing next chapter. Thankyou for reading! I hoped you enjoyed it, and if you did please leave a review :) If you didn't please tell me why, so I can try and fix it. Have a good night/day wherever you are**

**(Sorry for the sappiness, you know you love it ;D)**


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